Method and System for Musical Communication

ABSTRACT

Novel tools and techniques are provided for generating music, and, more particularly, to methods, systems, and apparatuses for generating music associated with a state contained within a communication, for a user interface for generating music associated with a state, for generated music to reflect movement between states, and for generating music to guide a user toward a desired state. In various embodiments, a computing system might analyze a communication of a user to determine at least one state contained within the communication. The communication may be a sensor communication, a biometric/health communication, a voice communication, a numerical communication, a textual communication, a picture/video communication, etc. Based on the determined at least one state, the computing system might generate music associated with the state or continuously control the generation of music to guide a user toward a desired state. A user interface for generating music may also be provided.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a 35 U.S.C. § 371 national phase application ofPCT/US2018/047375 (WO 2019/040524), filed on Aug. 21, 2018, entitled“Method and System for Musical Communication”, which application claimsthe benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/548,001, filedAug. 21, 2017, which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

COPYRIGHT STATEMENT

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialthat is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and TrademarkOffice patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrightrights whatsoever.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates, in general, to methods, systems, andapparatuses for implementing procedural, generative, interactive, andreactive music and audio, and, more particularly, to methods, systems,and apparatuses for generating music and audio associated with a stateor an emotion contained within a communication, for a user interface forgenerating and controlling music and audio characteristics associatedwith a state or an emotion, for generating audio to inform the user of acurrent state, for generating audio to give the user awareness ofmovement between states, and for generating audio to guide a user towarda desired state or goal.

BACKGROUND

While there are several services that generate music on a computer, noneof these services tailor the music and audio generated in real-time ornear real-time to an emotion or a current state of a particularuser/person or environment. Further, none of these services are drivenby an emotion or state of a user/person contained within a communicationor have an intuitive interface for a user/person to influence the audiothat allows for smooth transformations between different musical states.Additionally, none of these services seek to direct and/or guide a usertoward a desired state or goal.

Hence, there is a need for more robust, and portable solution forgenerating music/audio, and, more particularly, for generatingmusic/audio associated with an emotion/state contained within acommunication, for a user interface for generating music/audioassociated with a state, and for generating music to guide a user towarda desired state or goal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A further understanding of the nature and advantages of particularembodiments may be realized by reference to the remaining portions ofthe specification and the drawings, in which like reference numerals areused to refer to similar components. In some instances, a sub-label isassociated with a reference numeral to denote one of multiple similarcomponents. When reference is made to a reference numeral withoutspecification to an existing sub-label, it is intended to refer to allsuch multiple similar components.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a system for implementing thegeneration of music and audio, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIGS. 2A-2C illustrate user interface designs for interacting with themusic/audio and music/audio generation system, in accordance withvarious embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a system for implementing thegeneration of music and interactive audio, in accordance with variousembodiments.

FIGS. 4A-4C are schematic diagrams illustrating systems for mappingmusic/audio to emotions/states, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for implementing thegeneration of music/audio, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a method 600 for implementing auser interface for the generation of music/audio, in accordance withvarious embodiments.

FIGS. 7A-7C are flow diagrams illustrating a method for implementing auser interface for the generation of music/audio, in accordance withvarious embodiments.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for generatingmusic/audio, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIGS. 9A-9E are schematic diagrams illustrating systems for mappingstates to music, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating a method 1000 for continuouslycontrolling the generation of the music to guide a user toward a goal,in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary computer or systemhardware architecture, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a networked system of computers,computing systems, or system hardware architecture, which can be used inaccordance with various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN EMBODIMENTS

Overview

Various embodiments provide tools and techniques for generatinginteractive music/audio, and, more particularly, methods, systems, andapparatuses for generating music associated with an emotion/statecontained within a communication, for a user interface for generatingmusic/audio associated with an emotion, and for generating music toguide a user toward a desired state or goal or more optimally performingin an environment.

The methods, systems, and apparatuses disclosed in provide means formusical/audio communication. In an age of digital communicationdominated by screens, text, and interactive mediums composed of staticsound files (e.g., mp4 and .wav), there is a need to express informationthrough a flexible audio feedback system. Understanding of communicationthrough real-time adaptive music and audio can be achieved bytransforming musical states which feature characteristic emotionalnuance. These emotional sound qualities and changing states may beexpressed through music/audio feature parameters associated withparticular states and interpolating between different state parameters.

The methods, systems, and apparatuses described herein provide an audioengine with generative audio/music models and interfaces that generateor synthesize music or interactive sound in real-time based on feedbackfrom one or more sensors and/or user interaction. These models canproduce procedurally generated audio featuring infinite variation andinfluence from one or more sensors and/or user interactions. Thisapproach consists of mapping detailed music content, performance andexpressive features and components to input data streams andprobabilistic structures.

Further, the methods, systems, and apparatuses described herein providepersonalized, interactive, generative music and/or interactive audiothat adapt to and convey a user's current physiological state(emotional, physical, or the like), the state of a person that the useris interacting with via text, video, voice communication, and/or thelike, the state of a technology communicating to a user, and/or thestate of an environment surrounding a user or a device. For example,instead of sending text/photographic emojis, users of these methods,systems, and apparatuses may send musical emojis to express how they arefeeling. Additionally and/or alternatively, the music/sound that isgenerated may reflect a state of a technology (e.g., an amount of power,types of applications that are open, a typing speed of the user, and/orthe like). In some cases, the music/audio may reflect a state of theenvironment (e.g., a type of weather, temperature of a room, and/or thelike).

The methods, systems, and apparatuses described herein may be used toprovide a soundtrack to user activities including goal-oriented tasks,communications (e.g., text, voice, video, and/or the like), userapplications (e.g., games, social media applications, and/or the like),video games, a user's environment, and/or the like. Real-time datastreams input into the generative music model may come from one or moresensors, user interaction with a user interface, computer software, acomputer program, a virtual world, and/or the like. Additionally and/oralternatively, by interpreting the body language, tone of voice, brainwaves, pulse of a user and/or person a user is interacting with and/orby detecting an environment within a room, a surrounding area, and/orthe like, the methods, systems, and apparatuses described herein maygenerate instant audio feedback on psychological state of the userand/or a person interacting with the user, and/or an environment of auser or a person interacting with the user in the form of complex,sounds abstracting natural human expression. Thus, through the methods,systems, and apparatuses described herein, a user's mind, voice, body,environment, and/or the like may be used as input data driving themusical instrument.

Physiological states and/or environmental states are temporal in nature,therefore they can most be conveyed highly accurately through evolvingmusic or sound. Thus, the music and audio that is generated, by methods,systems, and apparatuses described herein, is not static and maytransition, transform or diverge over time as the user's state orenvironment changes.

These methods, systems, and apparatuses could also be embraced as anaccessibility tool, facilitating blind and autistic communication.Further, these methods, systems, and apparatuses could be used insituations where text/photograph emojis fail, such as in accessibilitydevices for the blind or with individuals with autism. Additionally,these methods, systems, and apparatuses could be used for therapysessions to make a patient feel at ease and to provide feedback to thetherapist about the emotional state of the patient or be used for soundtherapy for the patient.

Additionally and/or alternatively, the methods, systems, and apparatusesdisclosed determine different emotions contained within a communication(e.g., a biometric/health communication, a voice communication, atextual communication, a picture communication, a video communication, ahaptic communication and/or the like). Based on the determined emotions,the methods, systems, and apparatuses may generate and play music and/orother audio content associated with at least one determined emotion. Thegenerated music and/or other audio content would provide a soundtrack tothe communication and add emotional nuance to the communication throughmusic to more effectively express how a person is feeling.

In other embodiments disclosed, an intuitive user interface is providedto a user such that a user may generate music associated with differentemotions and smoothly transition between generating music associatedwith different emotions. The user interface provides for smoother andless audible jarring of music when transitioning between musicassociated with different emotions, and/or the like. The unique input ofeach user will cause the music that is generated to uniquely vary insound and expression.

Additionally and/or alternatively, these methods, systems, andapparatuses may be used as assistive sound guides for goal-basedactivities. Continuous control over musical content and expression canallow for morphing between different musical states to convey to theuser the direction they are moving in from their initial state. Thechanging characteristics in the audio can indicate to the user thedirection moved in from the initial state, if they are closer or fatheraway from their goal, how quickly they are moving in either direction.These methods, systems, and apparatus may be used to generatecontinuously evolving and/or changing sound characteristics over time todirect a user toward a desired state or goal. In a non-limiting example,various embodiments may be configured to exercise continuous controlover musical/sound characteristics based on input from one or moresensors (e.g., one or more biometric/health sensors, motion sensors,distance sensors, GPS sensors, touch screen position, pressure sensorand/or the like). In some embodiments, the musical characteristics mayalso evolve or change to act as a guide to guide a user to a desiredlocation (e.g., conveying a person's current position and/or thedirection he or she is moving).

In several non-limiting examples, the musical/sound characteristics mayact to guide a user from a negative state to a positive state, from astressed state to a relaxed state, from a non-meditative state to ameditative state, from an unfocused state to a focused state, from arestful state to an exercise state, from an exercise state to a restfulstate, from a first location to a second location, and/or the like.Additionally and/or alternatively, the music may guide a user throughincreasing/decreasing an intensity of a workout, increasing/decreasing abreathing pattern, increasing/decreasing a heartrate,increasing/decreasing a number of steps per minute, and/or the like. Inother embodiments, the music may act as a musical guide/navigator forthe visually impaired or to enhance the experience of a visual task suchas navigation in the real or virtual environment. In yet otherembodiments, the evolving music may guide a user to better postureand/or balance.

The following detailed description illustrates a few exemplaryembodiments in further detail to enable one of skill in the art topractice such embodiments. The described examples are provided forillustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of theinvention.

In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the described embodiments. It will be apparent to oneskilled in the art, however, that other embodiments of the presentinvention may be practiced without some of these specific details. Inother instances, certain structures and devices are shown in blockdiagram form. Several embodiments are described herein, and whilevarious features are ascribed to different embodiments, it should beappreciated that the features described with respect to one embodimentmay be incorporated with other embodiments as well. By the same token,however, no single feature or features of any described embodimentshould be considered essential to every embodiment of the invention, asother embodiments of the invention may omit such features.

Unless otherwise indicated, all numbers used herein to expressquantities, dimensions, and so forth used should be understood as beingmodified in all instances by the term “about.” In this application, theuse of the singular includes the plural unless specifically statedotherwise, and use of the terms “and” and “or” means “and/or” unlessotherwise indicated. Moreover, the use of the term “including,” as wellas other forms, such as “includes” and “included,” should be considerednon-exclusive. Also, terms such as “element” or “component” encompassboth elements and components comprising one unit and elements andcomponents that comprise more than one unit, unless specifically statedotherwise.

Various embodiments described herein, while embodying (in some cases)software products, computer-performed methods, and/or computer systems,represent tangible, concrete improvements to existing technologicalareas, including, without limitation, user communication technology,music content generation technology, music content navigation orselection technology, user interface technology, audio playbacktechnology, and/or the like. In other aspects, certain embodiments, canimprove the functioning of user equipment or systems themselves (e.g.,music players, music streaming or downloading systems, audio playbackdevices, etc.), for example, by, analyzing, with a computing system, acommunication to determine at least one emotion or state containedwithin the communication, embodiments can determine a particular statethat a user/person or technology is experiencing and generate musicassociated with the at least one state contained within thecommunication. Additionally and/or alternatively, a user interface maybe provided that facilitates the generation of music and transitionsbetween music associated with different states to convey to the user thecurrent state musically. In particular, to the extent any abstractconcepts are present in the various embodiments, those concepts can beimplemented as described herein by devices, software, systems, andmethods that involve specific novel functionality (e.g., steps oroperations), such as, analyzing a communication to determine at leastone emotion or state contained within the communication and generatingmusic associated with the at least one emotion contained within thecommunication and utilizing a user interface to generate musicassociated with a particular emotion and to smoothly transition betweenmusic associated with different states, and/or the like, to name a fewexamples, that extend beyond mere conventional computer processingoperations. These functionalities can produce tangible results outsideof the implementation of a computer system, including, merely by way ofexample, optimized presentation of audio content (e.g. music associatedwith an emotion) to a user, generation of audio content (e.g. musicassociated with an emotion or state), and transitioning of audio content(e.g. music associated with an emotion or state). The presentation ofaudio content allows users to provide a soundtrack to theircommunications or function as the communication itself. Thegeneration/transitioning of audio content provides for smoother and lessaudibly jarring changing of audio content, and/or the like, at leastsome of which may be observed or measured by customers.

Various modifications and additions can be made to the embodimentsdiscussed without departing from the scope of the invention. Forexample, while the embodiments described above refer to particularfeatures, the scope of this invention also includes embodiments havingdifferent combination of features and embodiments that do not includeall of the above described features.

SPECIFIC EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

We now turn to the embodiments as illustrated by the drawings. FIGS.1-12 illustrate some of the features of the method, system, andapparatus for generating music (and/or other audio/sound content), and,more particularly, to methods, systems, and apparatuses for generatingmusic (and/or other audio/sound content) associated with an emotioncontained within a communication and for a user interface for generatingmusic associated with an emotion or state, as referred to above.Although the specification generally refers to generating music, itshould be noted that other interactive audio/sound content (e.g.,reactive sound, reactive audio, and/or the like) may be generated usingthe methods, systems, and apparatuses described below. The methods,systems, and apparatuses illustrated by FIGS. 1-12 refer to examples ofdifferent embodiments that include various components and steps, whichcan be considered alternatives or which can be used in conjunction withone another in the various embodiments. The description of theillustrated methods, systems, and apparatuses shown in FIGS. 1-12 isprovided for purposes of illustration and should not be considered tolimit the scope of the different embodiments.

With reference to the figures, FIG. 1 is a schematic diagramillustrating a system 100 for generating music, in accordance withvarious embodiments. Although the generation of music is often referredto throughout the specification, a person of ordinary skill in the artcan understand that similar methods that generate music may be used togenerate sound and/or audio.

In the non-limiting embodiment of FIG. 1, system 100 might comprise oneor more user devices 105 (also referred to as “computing system 105”)and a data store or database 110 a that is local to the one or more userdevices 105. In some cases, the database 110 a might be external, yetcommunicatively coupled, to the one or more user devices 105. In othercases, the database 110 might be integrated within a user device 105.User device 105 might comprise a display 115 a. The display 115 a may bea touchscreen display that is configured to receive tactile input from auser or a display that is configured to receive input from a mouse. Thedatabase system may apply some preprocessing to the data before it isfed into the music system as an input. Additionally and/oralternatively, system 100 may further comprise one or more input devices115 and one or more audio playback devices 120 a-120 n (collectively,“audio playback devices 120” or “speakers 120” or the like), and/or thelike.

Each of the one or more user devices 105, the one or more input devices115, and/or the one or more audio playback devices 120, might becommunicatively coupled to each other, either via wireless connectionand/or via wired connection. Additionally and/or alternatively, each ofthe one or more input devices 115, and/or the one or more audio playbackdevices 120 might be integrated within user device 115.

The one or more user devices 105 might each be configured to receiveuser input from a user. The user input may be received through touchinput from the user, through the use of a mouse, and/or the like. Theone or more user devices may further be configured to receivecommunications from data streams (e.g., text communications, voicecommunications, Internet of Things (“IoT” e.g., smart home appliance)communications, video communications, biometric/health or physiologicalsensor communications, and/or the like), according to some embodiments.In some cases, the user devices 105 might include, without limitation, adesktop computer, a television, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, avideo game console, a smart phone, an e-reader, a smart watch, aportable fitness tracker, an electroencephalography (“EEG”) device,medical equipment, fitness gym equipment, a virtual reality (“VR”)device, an augmented reality (“AR”) device, and/or the like. The one ormore user devices 105 may further be configured to receivecommunications from one or more input devices 115. The one or more inputdevices 115 may include, without limitation, a tablet computer that hasbeen paired, synced, or synchronized with the user device 105, a laptopcomputer that has been paired, synced, or synchronized with the userdevice 105, a smart phone that has been paired, synced, or synchronizedwith the user device 105, a sensor that has been paired, synced, orsynchronized with the user device 105, a biometric/health orphysiological sensor that has been paired, synced, or synchronized withthe user device 105, a fitness tracker that has been paired, synced, orsynchronized with the user device 105, an EEG device that has beenpaired, synced, or synchronized with the user device 105, a virtualreality (“VR”) device that has been paired, synced, or synchronized withthe user device 105, an augmented reality (“AR”) device that has beenpaired, synced, or synchronized with the user device 105, a camera thathas been paired, synced, or synchronized with the user device 105, afacial recognition sensor that has been paired, synced, or synchronizedwith the user device 105, a distance sensor that has been paired,synced, or synchronized with the user device 105, a motion sensor thathas been paired, synced, or synchronized with the user device 105, amovement sensor that has been paired, synced, or synchronized with theuser device 105, a skin conductance sensor that has been paired, synced,or synchronized with the user device 105, a speed or velocity sensorthat has been paired, synced, or synchronized with the user device 105,an air movement sensor that has been paired, synced, or synchronizedwith the user device 105, a pressure sensor that has been paired,synced, or synchronized with the user device 105, an accelerometer thathas been paired, synced, or synchronized with the user device 105, agyroscope sensor that has been paired, synced, or synchronized with theuser device 105, an IoT sensor that has been paired, synced, orsynchronized with the user device 105, a temperature sensor that hasbeen paired, synced, or synchronized with the user device 105, a weathersensor that has been paired, synced, or synchronized with the userdevice 105, a humidity sensor that has been paired, synced, orsynchronized with the user device 105, one or more security sensors thathas been paired, synced, or synchronized with the user device 105, asmart home interface device (e.g., echo, etc.) that has been paired,synced, or synchronized with the user device 105, and/or the like and/orcombinations of the like.

Each of the one or more user devices 110 and/or input devices 115 may belocated with a user, at a customer premises, in a home, in a car, at agym, at a wellness centers, in a medical center, in a physical therapycenter, at a hotel, at a retail store, and/or the like.

In some embodiments, the computing system 105 a might comprise one of aprocessor within the user device 105 running a software application(“app”), a processor within the input device 115 running an app, aprocessor within one of the audio playback devices, and/or the like. Insome embodiments, the audio playback devices 120 might each include,without limitation, one or more speakers external to but communicativelycoupled to the user device 105 and/or input device 115, one of one ormore speakers integrated within the user device 105 and/or user inputdevice 115, one or more headphones, one or more earbuds, one or moresound bars, one or more wireless speakers, or one or more stereospeakers, and/or the like.

System 100 might further comprise one or more music content sources orservers 125 or music generation sources or servers 125 and correspondingdatabases 130 that might communicatively couple to the computing system105 a via one or more networks 130 (and in some cases, via one or moretelecommunications relay systems 140, which might include, withoutlimitation, one or more wireless network interfaces (e.g., wirelessmodems, wireless access points, and the like), one or more towers, oneor more satellites, and/or the like). The lightning bolt symbols areused to denote wireless communications between the one or moretelecommunications relay systems 140 and each of at least one of theuser devices 105, between the telecommunications relay systems 140 andeach of at least one of the input devices 115, between the one or moreuser devices 105 and each of at least one of the input devices 115,between the user devices and each of the one or more audio playbackdevices 120 a-120 n, between the input devices 115 and each of at leastone of the one or more audio playback devices 120 a-120 n, and/or thelike.

At least one of computing system 105, input device 115, or at least oneaudio playback device 125 might receive a communication and/or userinput, the user communication and/or user input may contain and/orindicate at least one state of a user, a person other than a user, astate of an environment, a state of a digital book, a state of a videogame, and/or the like. A state of the user and/or a person other than auser might correspond to at least one of an emotion of a user and/or aperson other than a user, a feeling of a user and/or a person other thana user, a location of the user and/or a person other than a user, aphysical position of a user and/or a person other than a user, a levelof activity of a user and/or a person other than a user, an action of auser and/or a person other than a user, and/or the like. A state of anenvironment might correspond to at least one of a weather situation(e.g., sunny, rainy, etc.), a temperature of an area, an amount ofhumidity, an amount of light, a time of day, a time of year, and/or thelike. A state of a digital book might be at least one of a state of oneor more characters in a book, a scene of a book (e.g., action,suspenseful, etc.), and/or the like. A state of a video game might be atleast one of a state of one or more characters in a book, a scene of abook (e.g., action, suspenseful, etc.), and/or the like. A processor ofthe computing system 105, input device 115, or at least one audioplayback device 120 may analyze the user and/or communication todetermine at least one state indicated by the user input and/or at leastone state contained within the communication.

In some embodiments, the communication that is analyzed to determine atleast one state of a user, a person other than a user, an environment,etc. may be at least one of a sensor communication, an IoT sensorcommunication, a biometric/health communication, a movement-basedgesture communication, a voice communication, a textual communication, aphotographic communication, a video communication, a virtual reality(“VR”) communication, an augmented reality (“AR”) communication, anumerical communication, a vehicular communication, and/or the like. Thecomputing system 105, input device 115, and/or at least one audioplayback device 120 may receive input from the one or morecommunications periodically (e.g., every second, every minute, every fewseconds, every few minutes and/or the like).

A sensor communication may contain feedback from one or more sensorsincluding, but not limited to, one or more GPS sensors, one or moredistance sensors, one or more motion sensors, one or more movementsensors, one or more speed or velocity sensors, one or moreaccelerometer sensors, one or more gyroscope sensors, one or morebiometric/health sensors, one or more facial recognition sensors, one ormore cameras, one or more weather sensors, one or more temperaturesensors, one or more ambient light sensors, one or more humiditysensors, one or more audio sensors, and/or the like. Based on inpul fromthe one or more sensors, the computing system 105, input device 115,and/or at least one audio playback device 120 may determine a state thata person is experiencing or a state of the environment.

An IoT sensor communication may contain feedback from one or more IoTsensors contained within a home. The IoT communication may be sent byone or more smart home devices (e.g., echo, google home, etc.). Forexample, the one or more IoT sensors might include one of one or morethermometers in one or more rooms, one or more infrared (“IR”)thermometers aimed at one or more positions in the one or more rooms,one or more air flow sensors in the one or more rooms, one or more airflow sensors in air ducts directed toward the one or more rooms, one ormore indoor solar light sensors, one or more outdoor solar lightsensors, one or more outdoor wind sensors, one or more neighborhoodweather station sensors, one or more regional weather station sensors,one or more motion detectors detecting presence of people or animals inat least one of the one or more rooms or outside the customer premises,one or more humidity sensors in the one or more rooms, one or more smokedetectors detecting smoke in the one or more rooms, one or more gasdetection sensors detecting gas in the one or more rooms, one or morebiometric sensors identifying at least one person, or one or more healthdevice with sensors detecting health information for at least oneperson, and/or the like. Based on input from the one or more sensors,the computing system 105, input device 115, and/or at least one audioplayback device 120 may determine a state that a person is experiencingor a state of the environment. The music may be adapted to change inreal-time as the state of the user, other person, or environment changesbased on feedback from the one or more sensors contained in the IoTcommunications.

A biometric/health communication may contain biometric/health feedbackfrom at least one of a medical device, smart phone, a smart watch, afitness tracker, an EEG device, and/or the like. The biometric/healthfeedback may include at least one of a heart rate, a HRV, a breathingrate, a blood pressure, a stress level, a measure of electrical activitywithin a brain, pupil dilation, skin conductivity, and/or the like.Based on the at least one of a heart rate, a blood pressure, a stresslevel, a measure of electrical activity within a brain, and/or the like,the computing system 105, input device 115, and/or at least one audioplayback device 120 may determine a state that a person or anenvironment is experiencing.

In a non-limiting example, if a heart rate is elevated, then thecomputing system 105, input device 115, and/or at least one audioplayback device 125 may determine that a person is stressed. The musicthat the computing system 105, input device 115, and/or at least oneaudio playback device 120 generates may be louder and have a fasterrhythm to reflect that a person is feeling stressed. Alternatively, thesystem may play music to compliment a person's state and play calmingmusic when the person is stressed to guide a user from a negative stateinto a more positive state. Additionally and/or alternatively, in anon-limiting example, if a heart rate is low and/or skin conductivity orpupil dilation is low then the computing systemn 105, input device 115,and/or at least one audio playback device 120 may determine that aperson is calm. The music that the computing system 105, input device115, and/or at least one audio playback device 120 generates may reflectthe person's calm state and/or the music that is generated may bedesigned to cause a person to become excited. The music may be adaptedto change in real-time as the state of the user and/or other personchanges in the biometric/health communication. Preset parameters withinthe music system define different states. Interpolation of theparameters defining each state allows for continuous morphing of themusic between states.

Additionally and/or alternatively, multiple biometric communications maybe received from multiple users. The music generated from thecommunications may be used to reflect how one or more users are doing ina competitive activity (e.g., a swim race, a track race, virtual raceetc.). Additionally and/or alternatively, the music that is generatedmay be used to reflect the compatibility/connectiveness of a team.

A voice communication may be obtained from at least one of a phone call,voice input, microphone input, and/or the like. The computing system105, input device 115, and/or at least one audio playback device 120 mayparse the words contained within the voice communication to determineone or more particular states that at least one person is experiencing.Additionally and/or alternatively, the computing system 105, inputdevice 115, and/or at least one audio playback device 120 may determinea tone of voice used in the voice communication to determine at leastone state that a person is experiencing. For example, a higher, loudertone of voice might indicate happiness while a lower, quieter tone ofvoice might indicate sadness. The music may be adapted to change inreal-time as the state of the user and/or other person changes in thevoice communication.

A textual communication may be obtained from at least one of a textmessage, an email message, an instant message, a webpage, an e-book,and/or the like. The computing system 105, input device 115, and/or atleast one audio playback device 120 may parse the words contained withinthe textual communication to determine one or more particular statesthat at least one person and/or character is experiencing. Computingsystem 105, input device 115, and/or at least one audio playback device120 may perform machine translation on the text. The computing system105, input device 115, and/or at least one audio playback device 120 mayfurther determine whether one or more emojis are contained within thetextual communication and determine one or more states associated withthe one or more emojis contained within the textual communication. Themusic may be adapted to change in real-time as the state of the userand/or other person changes in the textual communication.

A photographic communication may be obtained from at least one of aphotograph, video, and/or the like. The computing system 105, inputdevice 115, and/or at least one audio playback device 120 may analyzethe facial expression, body language, and/or the like of one or morepersons in the photograph to determine one or more particular statesthat the at least one person or character is experiencing. The computingsystem 105, input device 115, and/or at least one audio playback device120 may analyze the facial expression, body language, and/or the like ofone or more persons and/or characters in the video to determine one ormore particular states that the at least one person/character isexperiencing. The computing system 105, input device 115, and/or atleast one audio playback device 120 may also parse the dialogue of theat least one person in the video or determine a tone of voice of the atleast one person in the video to determine one or more particular statesthat the at least one person/character is experiencing. The music may beadapted to change over time as the state of the user and/or other personchanges in the photographic communication.

A VR communication and/or AR communication may be obtained from VR/ARdevices (e.g., cell phones, tablets, headsets, glasses, goggles, lenses,and/or the like) or be a parameter built into the game determined by thecontext within the game. The computing system 105, input device 115,and/or at least one audio playback device 120 may analyze the facialexpression, body language, and/or the like of the user of the AR/VRdevice, one or more persons interacting/communicating with the user ofthe AR/VR device, and/or one or more characters displayed by the AR/VRdevice. The computing system 105, input device 115, and/or at least oneaudio playback device 120 may also parse the dialogue or determine atone of voice of the user, one or more persons interacting with the userof the AR/VR device, and/or one or more characters displayed by theAR/VR device. Additionally and/or alternatively, the computing system105, input device 115, and/or at least one audio playback device 120 maydetect how a person is performing in a game and generate music based onthe person's performance. In non-limiting examples, if the user is doingwell, then the music that is generated may be more upbeat, if the useris in an action scene, the music that may be generated may be moreintense, if the character is performing poorly, then the music generatedmay become more tense, if the user's character dies in the game, thenthe music that is generated may contain lower tones, and/or the like.The music may be adapted to change continuously in real-time as thestate of the user and/or other person changes in the VR/ARcommunication.

A numerical communication may be obtained from one or more tradingapplications, option prices, profit/loss calculations, riskcalculations, etc. The audio may change continuously to convey real-timeprice changes, risk changes, etc.

A vehicular communication may be obtained from one or more vehicularcomponents (e.g., one or more location sensors, one or more motionsensors, one or more speed sensors, or more velocity sensors, one ormore GPS, one or more acceleration sensors, one or more pressuresensors, one or more force/impact sensors, one or more steering sensors,one or more autonomous vehicle controls, one or more self-drivingcontrols, one or more position sensors, one or more other vehicularsensors, a horn, and/or the like). The music or audio may be adapted tochange continuously in real-time as the state/action of the user, otherperson, environment of surrounding a vehicle, and/or the vehicle changesin the vehicular communication. For example, based on the input from thevehicular component, the system may determine the driver or passenger isdistracted or stressed. Music or audio may then be generated to help thedriver or passenger focus or relax. Additionally, the audio generatedcan be used to enhance the communication of a horn, where differentstates can convey information to another vehicle about why the hornsignal was pressed by the driver or passenger.

Additionally and/or alternatively, the computing system 105, inputdevice 115, and/or at least one audio playback device 120 may receive anindication from a user on a display of the computing system 105, theinput device 115, and/or the at least one audio playback device 120. Theindication may be received via tactile input or input via a mouse. Eachstate may be mapped to a position in a circular pattern (shown in FIG.2), an XY coordinate system (shown in FIG. 9D), an XYZ coordinatesystem, and/or the like.

In some embodiments, the music/audio that is generated may be based on acombination of two or more of one or more sensor inputs, one or morecommunications, and/or one or more user indications.

Based on the at least one determined state indicated by one or moresensor inputs, contained within the communication, and/or indicated bythe user input, the processor of the computing system 105, input device115, and/or at least one audio playback device 120 may autonomouslydetermine one or more first characteristics of a plurality ofcharacteristics of music/audio associated with the determined at leastone state indicated by one or more sensor inputs, contained within thecommunication, and/or indicated by the user. Additionally and/oralternatively, the computing system 105, input device 115, and/or atleast one audio playback device 120 may access database 110 and/or musicsource 125 to determine one or more first characteristics of a pluralityof characteristics of music associated with the determined at least onestate contained within the communication and/or indicated by the user.The one or more first characteristics of the plurality ofcharacteristics of music may include at least one of a note selection, anote pattern, an envelope, a harmony or combination of notes, anorchestration, a timbre quality, a filter, a speed, a rhythm, and/or avolume associated with the first state indicated by the communication.

The communication and/or indication may further indicate an age and/orsex of a user. The one or more first characteristics of a plurality ofcharacteristics of music may further associated with the at least one ofthe age or the sex contained within the communication and/or indicatedby the user input. The music that is generated may further have one ormore characteristics of the plurality of characteristics associated withthe at least one of the age or the sex indicated by the communicationand/or user input. In a non-limiting example, people associated with anolder age demographic may prefer classical music rhythms andorchestrations while people associated with a younger age demographicmay prefer hip-hop music rhythms and orchestrations. The demographicsmay determine initial position of the music system and shape thedirections, (states or presets) that the system will move to.

Additionally and/or alternatively, a user may be able to indicatecharacteristics of music that the user prefers to have. For example, auser may prefer to listen to hip hop music. Computing system 105, inputdevices 115, and/or playback devices 120 may receive this input(indicating that a user prefers hip hop music) and generate music havinghip hop characteristics (e.g., featuring sub bass, louder lowfrequencies, characteristic rhythmic attributes, and/or the like).

A user may explicitly indicate a particular preference for certain typesof music and/or computing system 105 may determine types of music a userprefers. For example, computing system 105 may monitor the type themusic a user buys or listens to on an application (e.g., a musicapplication). Based on the determined music a user buys and/or listensto on the application, the computing system 105 may generate music thathas similar characteristics. For example, a user may buy and listen tomostly classical music, the computing system 105 may then generate musichaving classical characteristics such as orchestra sounding instrumentsso that the music that is generated in appealing to the user.

Additionally and/or alternatively, instead of detecting states,computing system 105 may detect different types of elements and/orconcepts. In a non-limiting example, computing system 105 may detectdifferent types of scenes (e.g., action scene, adventure scene,landscape scenes, traffic scenes, and/or the like) of a book, videogame, movie, and/or the like. The music that is generated may furtherhave one or more characteristics of the plurality of characteristicsassociated with the at least one of the type of scene indicated by thecommunication and/or user input. In a non-limiting example, a particularpart of a book may have a sword fight and the music that is generatedmay have a faster rhythm and louder volume to reflect that the scene isan action scene. Additionally and/or alternatively, computing system 105may detect a state and/or action (e.g., running, walking, biking,sitting down, swimming, driving, etc.) of the user. For example, thecomputing system 105 may generate faster music when it determines aperson is running and generate slower music when it determines a personis sitting down. Alternatively, a car may be stuck in traffic and themusic that is generated might be designed to calm a driver.Alternatively, a driver may be falling asleep and the music generatedmight be designed to wake up the driver.

In additional embodiments, computing system 105 may detect a type ofapplication that is using the music generation system. The music that isgenerated may be adjusted to fit the application, game, sensor system,and/or the like. For example, if the music generation system is beingused to supplement a voice conversation, then the music that isgenerated may contain lower tones/volumes. If the music generationsystem is being used to supplement information received from a fitnesstracker, then the music that is generated may contain highertones/volumes or stronger rhythmic attributes. If the music isfunctioning as background sound in a VR/AR game, it may not only portraypsychological and physical state of the player but also convey player'sperformance in the game.

Based on the determination of the one or more first characteristics of aplurality of characteristics of music associated with the computingsystem 105, input device 115, and/or at least one audio playback device120 may generate music having the one or more first characteristics ofthe plurality of characteristics associated with the at least onestate/element/concept contained within the communication and/orindicated by the user. The music may change as the input(s) from the oneor more communications change. The music may change periodically (e.g.,every second, every minute, every few seconds, every few minutes). Thegenerated music may further contain one or more first characteristicsassociated with the at least one of the age or the sex indicated by thecommunication and/or user input. Additionally and/or alternatively, thegenerated music may further have one or more characteristics indicatedby a preference of the user.

The music may be generated using one or more of frequency modulation,additive synthesis, subtractive synthesis, wave table synthesis,granular synthesis or sample-based synthesis and/or the like. The musicmay be generated from input from one or more communications (e.g., asensor communication, an IoT sensor communication, a biometric/healthcommunication, a movement-based gesture communication, a voicecommunication, a textual communication, a photographic communication, avideo communication, a virtual reality (“VR”) communication, anaugmented reality (“AR”) communication, a tactile communication, and/orthe like). The music generated from two or more communications may besynthesized and harmonized together.

Additionally and/or alternatively, the music that is generated may bedesigned to have an opposite effect on the user listening to the music,complimenting their current state. For example, if the computing system105, input device 115, and/or at least one audio playback device 120determines that a user is sad based on the state detected within thecommunication, then the music that is generated may have one or morecharacteristics associated with the emotion “Happy” to uplift the user'sspirits.

Each emotion, age, sex, and/or preference may have a customizedalgorithm for generating music that reflects the determined emotion,element/concept, scene, age, sex, and/or preference of a person. Thesealgorithms may be inspired by soundtrack clichés, like those used inHollywood films and/or used by composers. These algorithms may beinspired by associations of musical attributes to emotion perceived inmusic from psychoacoustics research. These algorithms may be containedin database 110 a, music source 125, and/or database 130.

The music that is generated may be digital instruments which sound likereal instruments (e.g., violins, violas, flutes, drums, etc.).Additionally and/or alternatively, the music that is generated may notbe limited to instrumental music, but rather, synthesized electronicinstruments, that may compose the sound generated to convey a humanemotion. The model can be, for instance, generalized to include vocalsynthesis and/or imitate human or animal sounds (e.g., birds, whales,and/or the like). Synthesized vocalizations may imitate natural humanexpressions and responses with associated emotions.

The generated music may be configured to evolve over time and transitionbetween different states as the user's state changes, the one or morepersons' state changes, and/or the state of the environment changes.Additionally and/or alternatively, the music may be configured to guidea user toward a desired state by continuously adapting based on at leastone of the one or more sensor inputs, the one or more communications,and/or one or more indications by a user.

In yet another non-limiting example, the computing system 105, inputdevice 115, and/or at least one audio playback device 125 may exercisecontinuous control over one or more musical characteristics to cause theone or more musical characteristics to evolve or change over time andguide a user from one state to another state. For example, based onfeedback received from the one or more communications, the computingsystem 105, input device 115, and/or at least one audio playback device125 may continuously control the one or more musical characteristics toguide a user from a first state to a second desired state. This processwill be described more with respect to FIGS. 9 and 10, below.

The music that is generated by computing system 105 may further havehuman-like embellishments. Human performers have a natural imprecisionwhich must be explicitly accounted for in computer generated music. Todo this, irregular micro-fluctuations are added to the timing of noteonsets. This kind of small random signal bias is often referred to as“timing jitter.” As a result, quantized notes are gently un-quantized toprovide a more pleasing and human-sounding musical aesthetic. Timingjitter provides subtle rhythmic variation that add nuance to the staticnote patterns.

Similar to jittered timing offsets (“timing jitter”), “frequency jitter”is utilized to modulate the frequency (pitch) of the generated music.Depending on the duration and articulation of the note, frequency jitterparameters will change. For instance, long sustained notes will besubject to more evolved jitter (gradual drift), a technique to addwarmth; while shorter, more percussive notes will have little to nojitter.

Jitter may also be mapped to a number of other parameters in charge ofproducing timbre or the sound qualities of the notes. This referred toas “timbral jitter.” These parameters exist due in part to the real-timeaudio synthesis engine, which allow dynamic control and modulation of asound over time via digital signal processing.

The generated music associated with the at least one determined statemay be played through one or more playback devices 120.

In a non-limiting example, if the computing system 105, input device115, and/or at least one audio playback device 120 determines that acommunication and/or indication contains the state “Happy,” the musicthat is generated may contain higher notes and a faster rhythm. If thecomputing system computing system 105, input device 115, and/or at leastone audio playback device 120 determines that an indication and/orcommunication contains the state “Sad,” the music that is generated maycontain lower notes and a slower rhythm. Additionally and/oralternatively, if the computing system 105, input device 115, and/or atleast one audio playback device 120 determines that a communicationcontains an environmental state of “Sunny” the music that is generatedmay contain higher notes and a faster rhythm.

The computing system 105 may detect that more than one state iscontained within the communication and/or indicated by a user. If thecomputing system 105 detects at least two states, then the computingsystem may simultaneously generate, play, and/or harmonize the musicthat is associated with the at least two states. Additionally and/oralternatively, if the computing system detects at least two states, thenthe computing system may determine an order to play music associatedwith each of the at least two states and smoothly transition betweenplaying music associated with each of the at least two states. Dependingon the number of emotions contained within each indication and/orcommunication, the computing system 105 may determine an order ofsubsets of two or more states to simultaneously generate, play, and/orharmonize and smoothly transition between playing music associated witheach subset of two or more states.

If the music associated with the at least two states are played in aparticular order, the music associated with each state may be played fora predetermined amount of time (e.g., the music/sound may be playeduntil a note is finished playing, until a sequence has ended, and/or thelike) before transitioning. Additionally and/or alternatively, the musicassociated with each state may be transitioned based on a trackedposition of a user in a communication (e.g., a book or text) or based onwhich person is talking in a phone call. Computing system 105 mayfurther use a fitness tracker, an EEG device, a video communication,and/or a voice communication to track how a user's state or anotherperson's state is changing and transition to different music based on adetermined change in a user's state and/or another person's state inreal-time or near real-time. In order to transition the generated musicin real-time or near real-time, the computing system may introduceinterpolation in different areas which enables gradual and/or abrupttransition between musical parameters associated with differentemotions. There may be a mixture of interpolation including smoothedcontinuous control (which may feature a smoothing filter) and beatquantized transitioning. Interpolated aspects of music may includeharmonic, timbre, orchestration and rhythmic content in order totransition smoothly from one musical aspect or phrase to another.

In a non-limiting example, the communication may be a book, or digitalmedium with a narrative and computing system 105 may track where aparticular user is in the narrative. Based on one or more statescontained within a particular part of the narrative, the computingsystem may generate music associated with those states. The musicassociated with these states may be harmonized and/or played in theorder that each state appears on the page of book. This creates acustomized soundtrack associated with the book and adds an additionalelement beyond merely reading the text or viewing video content indigital medium.

In an additional non-limiting example, a calling party may be having aphone conversation with called party and the computing system 105 maydetermine a particular state associated with both the calling party andthe called party. The computing system may play music associated witheach state simultaneously or play music associated with the particularperson when that particular person is talking. The music may be playedat a lower volume so that the music adds additional elements to theconversation without drowning out the conversation between the callingparty and the called party.

In an additional non-limiting example, a fitness tracker may be used totrack a user as the user is transitioning through a work out. Thefitness tracker may detect that a user is cooling down from a workoutand transition the music that is generated from excited/vigorous tocalm/soothing.

In an additional non-limited example, a fitness tracker, handheld deviceor exercise machine may be used to track the cyclic nature of a workout. The tempo and rhythmic pattern of the music generated will adapt tothe cyclic activity in the workout.

In an additional example, a movement detector from a handheld device maydetect the amount of movement during a work-out. The amount of movementmay be used to increase the energy in the music generated.

Each state may be associated with an icon (e.g., a text icon and/oremoji icon) and each icon may be mapped to a circular pattern/wheel 205,shown in FIG. 2. Additionally and/or alternatively, instead of icons,each state may be mapped to a position on a circular pattern/wheel 205.FIGS. 2A-2C (collectively, FIG. 2) illustrate user interface designs 200(also referred to as user interface 200) for interacting with the musicgeneration system (as described with respect to FIGS. 1 and 3-9), inaccordance with various embodiments.

The circular pattern/wheel 205 is not limited to only being a circle.The circular pattern could be any pattern (e.g., an oval, triangle,square, rectangle, a two-dimensional graph (e.g., an XY graph, etc.) ona two-dimensional plane. Additionally and/or alternatively, the circularpattern/wheel 205 may be a three-dimensional shape or graph. A person ofordinary skill in the art would understand that any pattern may act in asimilar manner as the circular pattern 205 described below. Atwo-dimensional graph is described in more detail below with respect toFIG. 9D. The two-dimensional graph 900 shown in FIG. 9D may be used in asimilar manner as circular interface 200.

According to some embodiments, the user interface 200 may display statesdetected from a communication. A user may then determine from thedisplayed states what type of music is being generated. The userinterface 200 may display only those states detected in thecommunication. Alternatively, the user interface 200 may display, aplurality of icons 210 and/or positions associated with particularstates mapped to a circular pattern 205 and the icons and/or positionsassociated with the states detected in the communication may behighlighted or bolded to stand out from the rest of the icons/positionson the circular pattern 205.

Additionally and/or alternatively, the circular pattern 205 may displayicons associated with elements/concepts other than states. For example,the icons 210 may be associated with scenes (e.g., action scenes, horrorscenes, romance scenes, and/or the like) from a movie, book, video game,and/or the like. The music that is generated may then have musicalcharacteristics associated with the scenes (e.g., action scenes, horrorscenes, romance scenes, and/or the like). Additionally and/oralternatively, the icons 210 may be associated with an action of theuser. For example, different sensors and/or input devices may detectand/or a user may input whether a person is running, walking, biking,sitting down, etc. and the generated sounds may reflect the action ofthe user. In a non-limiting example, the music that is generated, whenthe user is sitting down, may be slower than the music that is generatedwhen the user is running.

Additionally and/or alternatively, according to some embodiments (shownin FIG. 2A), a plurality of icons 210 and/or positions associated withparticular states and/or other elements/concepts may be mapped to acircular pattern 205 and displayed to a user on user interface 200. Theicons may be text icons and/or emojis. Each icon 210 and/or position maybe color coded based on the particular state and/or otherelement/concept it represents. Additionally and/or alternatively, aparticular state and/or other element/concept may be represented by anemoji associated with that particular state.

The circular pattern 205 may be displayed to a user on a computingsystem and/or communication device. The user interface 200 may be hostedon a webpage that is accessible by a user and/or stored in memory of acomputing system/communication device. An icon, thumbnail, shortcut, orthe like for the user interface 200 may be displayed in a text messagingapplication, an email application, a video communication application, ane-book, and/or the like. A user may select the icon, thumbnail,shortcut, and/or the like to enable the music generation system/methodto determine states contained in communications and/or to display thefull user interface 200 to a user.

Additionally and/or alternatively, the computing system and/orcommunication device may use the circular pattern 205 to determine alocation of a particular state represented by an icon/position on thecircle without displaying the wheel 205 to the user. An icon, thumbnail,shortcut, or the like for the user interface 200 may be displayed in atext messaging application, an email application, a video communicationapplication, an e-book, and/or the like. A user may select the icon,thumbnail, shortcut, and/or the like to enable the music generationsystem/method to determine states contained in communications.

The wheel 205 is a circular wheel interface where a range of statesand/or other elements/concepts (represented by icons 210) are mapped todifferent positions. The wheel 205 is the source of control for musicparameters and an icon's position on the wheel determines changes in anote pattern, a harmony, a tone, an orchestration, a speed, a rhythm, avolume, and/or the like. The position of each icon on the wheel 205 isthe main control over time of the generation of music. Different regionson the wheel 205 map to noticeable differences in the music that isgenerated by the computing system. A specific intensity and valencescore may determine a state region and/or other element region on thecircular or X/Y grid (shown in FIG. 9D) interface and each state regionand/or other element region may correspond to particular musicalparameters in the generated music.

As shown in FIG. 2B, the plurality of icons 210 and/or positions ofstates may be organized such that similar states and/or otherelements/concepts (represented by icons 210) are grouped together in aparticular region of the circular wheel 205. Similar states may havesimilar musical/sound characteristics to aid in smoothly transitioningbetween states. If a user and/or communication were to traverse aroundan entire circumference of the circular pattern, a beginning point andan end point would generate audio having similar characteristics becausethe beginning point and the end point are located in a similar region.States and/or other elements/concepts grouped together in a particularregion may sound similar but have some noticeable differences. Forexample, a position of state on a circumference of the circular patternor an angle of a position of a state on the circular pattern maycorrespond to a first subset of characteristics associated with aparticular state and/or other element/concept represented by aparticular position, while a distance of position of a state from acenter of the circular pattern may correspond to a second set ofcharacteristics associated with the particular state. Additionallyand/or alternatively, a position of a state on a circumference of thecircular pattern or an angle of a position on the circular pattern maycorrespond to a particular musical arrangement associated with aparticular state and/or other element/concept represented by aparticular position, while a distance of position of a state from acenter of the circular pattern may correspond to an intensity of theparticular musical arrangement.

A user may interact with user interface 205 via tactile input and/ormouse input. Additionally and/or alternatively, the user interface 205may be used by a computing system and/or user device to determine whatmusic to play based on an emotion contained with a communication (e.g.,at least one of a sensor communication, an IoT communication, abiometric/health communication, a voice communication, a textualcommunication, a photographic communication, a video communication,and/or the like). A computing system may determine where a particularposition associated with the determined state is on the wheel 205 andaccess and play the algorithm associated with the particular state basedon where the state is located on the wheel 205.

Based on the user interaction with the user interface 205 and/or basedon a determined state from a communication, the computing system maydetermine the position on a circumference of the wheel 205 of an icon210 and/or position associated with the determined at least oneparticular state or an angle of the icon 210 and/or position associatedwith the determined at least one particular state on the circularpattern and the distance of the particular icon 210 and/or positionassociated with the determined at least one particular state from thecenter of the wheel 205. Based on the determination of the position orangle and the distance of the icon 205 associated with the determined atleast one state the computing system and/or user device may generatemusic having the musical arrangement and the intensity associated withthe determined at least one state of the communication.

Additionally and/or alternatively, the wheel 205 may facilitatetransitioning between music associated with a first particular state tomusic associated with a second particular state. This is shown in FIG.2C. In FIG. 2C, icons 210 and/or positions associated with a particularstate are represented by circles 210 a. A user may first indicate thestate represented by an icon located at the top of wheel 205 via touchinput, mouse input, and/or by indicating a state in a communication.

If the selection is made via touch or a mouse and after a first userindication is made, then a computing system and/or communication devicemay track a user's interaction with the user interface 200 and wheel205. A user may continue to drag his or her finger or other device(e.g., mouse, stylus, and/or the like) along a path 215 on the wheel 205indicating that the music that is generated should transition betweenmusic associated with at least two states. The music that is generatedmay transition in real time or near real time based on the user'sinteraction with the wheel 205. For example, if the user stops for aperiod of time on a particular icon associated with a state, then themusic associated with that particular state may play for that period oftime until the user stops selecting the icon and/or moves on to adifferent state. Additionally and/or alternatively, each icon that theuser selects by dragging his or her finger or other device (e.g., mouse,stylus, and/or the like) along a path 215 may play music associated withthat particular icon/state/position for a predetermined amount of time(e.g., until a note is done playing, until a sequence of notes iscomplete, and/or the like) before transitioning on to the musicassociated with the next selected icon/state/position. In some cases,the predetermined amount of time may be selected by a user of userinterface 200.

The computing system and/or user device may also introduce some lag sothat music that is generated by user interaction is not generated inreal time. For example, if the user drags his or her finger or deviceover user interface 200 quickly, the computing system may not be able totransition between music associated with different states smoothly. Byintroducing lag, the computing system may smoothly transition betweenmusic associated with different emotions.

Additionally and/or alternatively, if a user picks up his finger and/ordevice, a computer may determine that a user would like to pause betweentransitioning between a first selected state and an additional selectedstate. The music may turn off or continue to play in static position. Ifthe user rests on a particular state, the music can still becontinuously generated.

If a selection of more than one state is made via a communication (e.g.,at least one of a sensor communication, an IoT communication, abiometric/health communication, a voice communication, a textualcommunication, a photographic communication, a video communication,and/or the like) and the communication contains at least two states,then a computing device may determine a path 215 between a firstselected state and at least one additional state. Using the statesbetween the first selected state and at least one additional state, thecomputing system may smoothly transition between playing musicassociated with each of the at least two states contained within thecommunication by playing music associated with the determined additionalstates between music associated with the at least two particular statesindicated in the communication.

Additionally and/or alternatively, the generated music may transitionbetween music associated with the at least two states indicated in thecommunication by pausing music associated with a first indicated statebefore playing music associated with a second indicated state.

The above referenced transition methods may additionally be used toguide a user from a first state to a second desired state. The generatedmusic may continuously guide, based on input from the one or morecommunications, a user from a first state to a second desired state. Ina non-limiting example, a computing device may determine a path 215between a first state and at least one additional desired state. Usingthe states between the first selected state and at least one additionalstate, the computing system may smoothly transition, based on input fromthe one or more communications, between playing music associated witheach of the at least two states contained within the communication byplaying music associated with the determined additional states betweenmusic associated with the at least two particular states indicated inthe communication to guide a user towards the second desired state.

User interface 200, a computing system, and/or a communication devicemay give a user an option to save music that is generated by userinteraction with interface 200 and/or music that is generated byanalyzing the communication. A user may then playback the saved musicthat was previously generated. Additionally and/or alternatively, a usermay be given the option to share (via social media site, text, email,phone, and/or the like) the generated music with others. The user mayfurther be able to create a playlist of generated music and/or give thegenerated music a unique name.

FIG. 3 is an additional schematic diagram illustrating a system 300 forimplementing the generation of music, in accordance with variousembodiments. System 300 may be similar to system 100 of FIG. 1 andperform similar functions as system 100 of FIG. 1. Additionally and/oralternatively, system 300 may be used in conjunction with user interface200 of FIG. 2.

System 300 may comprise computing system 305 (which may correspond tocomputing system 105 of FIG. 1). Computing system 305 may runapplications such as text, voice, and/or video applications and/orreceive input from input devices 310. Input devices 310 may include oneor more sensor devices including one or more IoT sensors, one or morebiometric/health sensor devices 310, text/speech device 310 b, VR/ARdevices, fitness tracker devices, smart watches, EEG devices, one ormore cameras, one or more facial recognition devices, and/or the like.Computing system 305 may also receive direct user input 335 via touch,mouse, video game context and/or the like.

Computing system 105, based on the input received from input devices 310and/or direct user input 335, may determine a state contained within theinput received from input devices 310 and/or user input 335. Based onthe determined state, the user interface may determine apositivity/negativity (valence) and/or intensity of music associatedwith the determined state. The positivity/negativity and/or intensity ofthe music are discussed further with respect to FIG. 4. Additionallyand/or alternatively, computing system 105 may determine a position of adetermined state on the circular pattern 325 or X/Y plane to determinethe positivity/negativity and/or intensity of music associated with thedetermined state. Different combinations of positivity/negativity and/orintensity characterize different state and map to various regions aroundthe circular pattern's circumference or position on an X/Y plane.

In addition to determining a state contained within input devices 310and/or indicated by user input 335, the computing system may furtherdetermine user preferences, demographics, and/or the like whendetermining what music to generate (block 320). A user may directlyenter user preferences, demographics, and/or the like. The computingsystem 305 may also indirectly determine user preferences, demographics,and/or the like. For example, computing system 305 may determine userhabits (i.e. what types of music a user typically listens to and/orbuys).

Additionally and/or alternatively, music generationparameters/characteristics may be adjusted to fit output of theapplication, game, sensor system, and/or the like. For example, if themusic generation system is being used to supplement a voiceconversation, then the music that is generated may contain lowertones/volumes. If the music generation system is being used tosupplement information received from a fitness tracker, then the musicthat is generated may contain higher tones/volumes.

The determined positivity/negativity and/or intensity of the state maybe mapped to a circular pattern 325 (which may correspond to userinterface 200 of FIG. 2) and/or an XY graph (which may correspond to XYgraph 900 d of FIG. 9D). States having similar positivity/negativityand/or intensity music may be located in a similar region of thecircular pattern 325 and/or graph. Additionally, different statecategories may have specific positivity/negativity and/or intensityvalues.

User interface 325 may be displayed to a user and/or invisible to a userdepending on the application of the music generation system 300. Forexample, if computing system 305 is analyzing text and/or voice input,then the interface 325 may be invisible. If the computing system 305 isreceiving user input via touch or mouse, then the interface 325 may bedisplayed to a user.

After determining the positivity/negativity and/or intensity of music,the generated music may be outputted via audio output 330 (which maycorrespond to playback devices 120 of FIG. 1). In some embodiments, theaudio output device 330 might each include, without limitation, one ormore speakers external to but communicatively coupled to the user device305 and/or input device 310, one of one or more speakers integratedwithin the user device 305 and/or user input device 310, one or moreheadphones, one or more earbuds, one or more sound bars, one or morewireless speakers, or one or more stereo speakers, and/or the like.

FIGS. 4A-4C (collectively, FIG. 4) represents a system 400 for mappingmusic to states, in accordance with various embodiments. FIG. 4Aincludes a table 405 for mapping music to different state categories410. FIG. 4A has two mapping parameters positivity 415 a/negativity 415b and/or intensity 420. The negativity scale 415 b is the same aspositivity scale 415 a, except it is reversed (i.e. on the positivityscale “Happy” is given a 10 while on the negativity scale “Happy” isgiven a 0). The positivity/negativity parameters may be collectivelyreferred to as positivity/negativity parameters 415. Although only twomapping parameters are shown (positivity/negativity parameters 415and/or intensity parameter 420) in FIG. 4A, more than two parameters maybe used to map music to different states. Additionally and/oralternatively, only one parameter, such as positivity 415 a, may be usedto map music to states.

Positivity/negativity parameters 415 are rated on a scale of 1-10 whileintensity 420 is rated on a scale of 1-100. These values are rescaledbetween 0-1 then rescaled to control various musical parameters. Statecategories 410 having a similar positivity/negativity parameter 415and/or a similar intensity rating 420 may be grouped together on acircular interface and/or a graph (which may correspond to circularinterface 205 of FIG. 2, circular interface 325 of FIG. 3, graph 400 bor 400 c of FIGS. 4B and 4C, graph 900 d of FIG. 9D, and/or the like).Thus, the state categories 210 that are grouped together will generatesimilar music with subtle differences.

Positivity/negativity parameters 415 may correspond to a note pattern, anote probability, an envelope, a harmony, a tone, a filter cut-off,pitch, contour, arpeggiation rate, arpeggiation step size, vocal-likeinflections, elements of surprise, note envelopes, envelope controlsignals, randomization, consistency, an orchestration, a speed, arhythm, a volume, and/or the like associated with a state. Intensityparameters 420 may correspond to a note pattern, a harmony, a tone,crescendo, decrescendo, vocal formant-like filtering or expressiveattribute (e.g., inflection), an orchestration, a speed, a volume,and/or the like associated with a state.

Each value that is given to a particular state may be used to generatemusic that is unique to each particular state. The music that isgenerated is represented by music attributes column 425. For example, ifthe computing system determines that a communication contains the state“Happy” and/or a user has selected an icon associated with the state“Happy,” the computing system may generate music having a major mode,fast tempo, staccato, quick attack (note onsets), short decay, andbright timbre.

Music attributes column 425 may further vary based on the type ofapplication/communication (e.g., voice, text, speech, fitness tracker,EEG device, smart watch, AR/VR device, user input, and/or the like), thedemographics (e.g., age, sex, and/or the like) of the user, the user'spreferences, and/or the like.

FIGS. 4B and 4C further represent ways to map different music parametersto states using graphs 400 b and 400 c. FIG. 4B represents mappingpositivity/negativity parameters 415 to different musicalcharacteristics. In a non-limiting example, states mapped to positiveparameters 415 a (e.g., “Happy”) may cause the computing system togenerate music that has a brighter timbre, a major mode, higher notedensity, more implied polyphony, steady rhythm, smooth curves, lessrandomness, larger jumps, and/or the like. While states mapped tonegative parameters 415 b (e.g. “Sad”), may cause the computing systemto generate music that has a darker timber, a minor mode, morechromaticism, higher dissonance, more irregular curves, jagged pitchcurves and/or the like.

FIG. 4C represents mapping intensity parameters 420 to different musicalcharacteristics. In a non-limiting example, states mapped to highintensity parameters 420 a (e.g. “Excited,” “Anxious,” and/or the like)may cause the computing system to generate music that has largeamplitude modulation, fast arpeggiation rate, high brightness, highpitch height, and/or the like. While states mapped to low intensityparameters 420 b (e.g., “Calm,” “Dreamy,” and/or the like), may causethe computing system to generate music that has low amplitudemodulation, slow arpeggiation rate, long note envelope, low pitch range,and/or the like.

Users/communications may interact with graphs 400 b and 400 c in asimilar manner as circular interface 200 of FIG. 2 to generate music.

Each of the examples described above, with respect to FIG. 4, isintended to be non-limiting. A variety of parameters (instead ofpositivity/negativity and/or intensity) may be used to create musicassociated with each state. Further, positivity/negativitycharacteristics and/or intensity characteristics are not limited tothose described above. Each state could have an almost unlimited numberof musical characteristics associated with it and the musicalcharacteristics associated with each emotion are not limited to thosementioned above.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a method 500 for implementing thegeneration of music, in accordance with various embodiments.

While the techniques and procedures are depicted and/or described in acertain order for purposes of illustration, it should be appreciatedthat certain procedures may be reordered and/or omitted within the scopeof various embodiments. Moreover, while the method 500 illustrated byFIG. 5 can be implemented by or with (and, in some cases, are describedbelow with respect to) the system 100 of FIG. 1 (or components thereof),the user interface 200 of FIG. 2 (or components thereof), the system 300of FIG. 3 (or components thereof), the mapping system 400 of FIG. 4 (orcomponents thereof), and/or the mapping system of FIG. 9 (or componentsthereof), such methods may also be implemented using any suitablehardware (or software) implementation. Similarly, while each of thesystem 100 of FIG. 1 (or components thereof) user interface 200 of FIG.2 (or components thereof), the system 300 of FIG. 3 (or componentsthereof), the mapping system 400 of FIG. 4 (or components thereof),and/or the mapping system of FIG. 9 (or components thereof), can operateaccording to the method 500 illustrated by FIG. 5 (e.g., by executinginstructions embodied on a computer readable medium), the system 100 ofFIG. 1 user interface 200 of FIG. 2, the system 300 of FIG. 3, themapping system 400 of FIG. 4, and/or the mapping system of FIG. 9 caneach also operate according to other modes of operation and/or performother suitable procedures.

Although method 500 is described with respect to emotions/concepts, asimilar method may be used for different states of an environment ordifferent states of a user which may include at least one of an emotionof a user, a feeling of a user, a location of the user a, a physicalposition of a user, a level of activity of a user, an action of a user,and/or the like. In the non-limiting embodiment of FIG. 5, method 500,at block 505, might comprise analyzing, with a computing system, acommunication to determine at least one emotion (concept or state)contained within the communication. The computing system may be at leastone of a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet, a smart phone,an e-reader, and/or the like. Additionally and/or alternatively, in someembodiments, the computer system might be embedded in an exercisemachine, physical therapy device, headphone, wristband or headband.Additionally and/or alternatively, in some embodiments, the computingsystem might include, without limitation, one of a processor of aset-top box, a processor of a digital video recording (“DVR”) device, aprocessor of a user device running a software application (“app”), aprocessor of an audio playback device, a processor on an input device(e.g., fitness tracker, EEG device, or the like) running an app, aprocessor of a media player, a processor of a gaming console, aprocessor in audio equipment, and/or the like. The concept may be atleast one of an emotion of a person, a state of a person, an action of aperson, or a scene.

The communication may be at least one of a sensor communication, an IoTcommunication, a biometric/health communication, a voice communication,a textual communication, a photographic communication, a videocommunication, a VR/AR communication, and/or the like.

The sensor communication may contain feedback from one or more sensorsincluding, but not limited to, one or more distance sensors, one or moremotion sensors, one or more movement sensors, one or more speed orvelocity sensors, one or more accelerometer sensors, one or morebiometric/health sensors, one or more facial recognition sensors, one ormore camera sensors, one or more IoT sensors (e.g., thermometers,humidity sensors, etc.) and/or the like. Based on input from the one ormore sensors, the computing system 105, input device 115, and/or atleast one audio playback device 120 may determine a mental or physicalstate that a person is experiencing or a state of the environment.

The IoT communication may contain feedback from one or more IoT sensorscontained within a home. For example, the one or more IoT sensors mightinclude one of one or more thermometers in one or more rooms, one ormore infrared (“IR”) thermometers aimed at one or more positions in theone or more rooms, one or more air flow sensors in the one or morerooms, one or more air flow sensors in air ducts directed toward the oneor more rooms, one or more indoor solar light sensors, one or moreoutdoor solar light sensors, one or more outdoor wind sensors, one ormore neighborhood weather station sensors, one or more regional weatherstation sensors, one or more motion detectors detecting presence ofpeople or animals in at least one of the one or more rooms or outsidethe customer premises, one or more humidity sensors in the one or morerooms, one or more smoke detectors detecting smoke in the one or morerooms, one or more gas detection sensors detecting gas in the one ormore rooms, one or more biometric sensors identifying at least oneperson, or one or more health sensors detecting health information forat least one person, and/or the like. Based on input from the one ormore sensors, the computing system, input device, and/or at least oneaudio playback device may determine a state that a person isexperiencing or a state of the environment.

The biometric/health communication may be received from at least one ofa fitness tracker or an electroencephalography (“EEG”) device and thecomputing system may determine the at least one emotion of a personand/or concept based on feedback from the at least one of the fitnesstracker or the EEG device. In a non-limiting example, the fitnesstracker and/or EEG device may provide feedback about a blood pressure ofa user, a heart rate of a user, electrical brain waves of a user, and/orthe like. Based on the blood pressure, the heart rate, the electricalbrain waves and/or the like, the computing system may determine anemotion/concept that a user is experiencing. Merely by way of example,if the user has an elevated blood pressure and a high heart rate thecomputing system may determine that a user of the fitness tracker and/orEEG device is feeling stressed.

The voice communication may be received via user input or from a phonecall between a calling party and a called party. In order to determinethe at least one emotion/concept of a person, the computing system mayparse the voice communication of the at least one person and/ordetermine a tone of voice of at least one person. Merely by way ofexample, if the communication is via phone, the computing system mayparse the voice communication between the calling party and the calledparty to determine how each party is feeling. Additionally and/oralternatively, the computing system may analyze the tone of voice ofeach party to determine what emotions/state each party is experiencing.

With regard to the textual communications, the computing system mayanalyze text messages, instant messages, social media posts, emails,books, and/or the like to determine an emotion/concept that auser/person is experiencing. The computing system may parse the text ofthe textual communication to determine the emotion/concept of a person.Merely by way of example, the computing system may parse the text forkey words such as “happy” or “sad” and/or the computing system may parsethe textual communication for emojis to determine the mood of a person.Additionally, the computing system may parse the words of a book todetermine a scene (e.g., action scene, adventure scene, romance scene,etc.) of a book or an action/state of a person in the book.

The photographic communication may be a photograph taken with a camera.The computing system may then use facial recognition tools to determinea displayed emotion/concept of at least one person in the photograph.The video communication may be taken with a video camera. The videocommunication may also be a video phone call between at least twoparties. The computing system may then use facial recognition tools todetermine a displayed emotion/concept of the at least one person in thevideo. The computing system may also use tools to analyze body languageof the at least one person in the video communication to determine anemotion/concept that the at least one person is experiencing. Thecomputing system may further parse the dialogue of the at least oneperson in the video or analyze the tone of voice of at least one personin the video communication to determine an emotion/concept that the atleast one person in the video is experiencing. Additionally and/oralternatively, the computing system may use facial recognition tools,analyze body language, parse dialogue, analyze tone of voice todetermine a state/action (e.g., running, walking, and/or the like) of aperson and/or a scene (e.g., action scene, adventure scene, romancescene, and/or the like) of the video/picture.

A VR communication and/or AR communication may be obtained from VR/ARdevices (e.g., cell phones, tablets, headsets, glasses, goggles, lenses,and/or the like). The computing system 105, input device 115, and/or atleast one audio playback device 120 may analyze the facial expression,body language, and/or the like of the user of the AR/VR device and/orone or more persons interacting/communicating with the user of the AR/VRdevice. The computing system 105, input device 115, and/or at least oneaudio playback device 120 may also parse the dialogue or determine atone of voice of the user and/or one or more persons interacting withthe user of the AR/VR device. The facial expression, body language,dialogue, and/or tone of voice may then be used to determine aconcept/emotion of a user and/or person. A state of a virtual conceptdefined within the game metrics may also be used to drive the state ofthe music system.

The method 500, at block 510, may further comprise autonomouslydetermining, with the computing system, one or more firstcharacteristics of a plurality of characteristics of music associatedwith the determined at least one emotion/concept/state contained withinthe communication. The one or more first characteristics of theplurality of characteristics of music include at least one of a notepattern, a harmony, a tone, an orchestration, a speed, a rhythm, avolume, and/or the like associated with the first emotion/conceptindicated by the communication.

At block 515, method 500 may further comprise, based on thedetermination of the one or more first characteristics of a plurality ofcharacteristics of music associated with the at least oneemotion/concept/state contained within the communication, autonomouslygenerating, with the computing system, music having the one or morefirst characteristics of the plurality of characteristics associatedwith the at least one determined emotion/concept contained within thecommunication.

Additionally and/or alternatively, the communication may furtherindicate at least one of an age and/or sex of a person. The one or morefirst characteristics of a plurality of characteristics of music mayfurther be associated with the at least one of the age or the sexindicated by the communication. The music that is generated further hasthe one or more first characteristics of the plurality ofcharacteristics associated with the at least one of the age or the sexindicated by the communication.

The generated music may further have human-like embellishments. Thehuman-like embellishments may be created from at least one of timingjitter, frequency jitter, timbral jitter, and/or the like. These allowfor the music to continuously evolve even when stuck in one state.

Human performers have a natural imprecision which must be explicitlyaccounted for in computer generated music. To do this, irregularmicro-fluctuations may be added to the timing of note onsets. This kindof small random signal bias is often referred to as “timing jitter.” Asa result, quantized notes are gently un-quantized to provide a morepleasing and human-sounding musical aesthetic. Timing jitter providessubtle rhythmic variation that may add nuance to the static notepatterns.

Similar to jittered timing offsets (“timing jitter”), “frequency jitter”may be utilized to modulate the frequency (pitch) of the generatedmusic. Depending on the duration and articulation of the note, frequencyjitter parameters will change. For instance, long sustained notes willbe subject to more evolved jitter (gradual drift), a technique to addwarmth; while shorter, more percussive notes will have little to nojitter.

Jitter may also be mapped to a number of other parameters in charge ofproducing timbre or the sound qualities of the notes. This referred toas “timbral jitter.” These parameters exist due in part to the real-timeaudio synthesis engine, which allow dynamic control of a sound over timevia digital signal processing.

Additional embodiments of method 500 may further comprise an initialstep of mapping, with the computing system, a plurality of icons to acircular pattern, wherein each icon of the plurality of icons isassociated with at least one emotion/concept/state, wherein at least oneof a position of an icon on a circumference of the circular pattern oran angle of the icon on the circular pattern corresponds to a firstsubset of particular characteristics of music associated with aparticular emotion/concept/state represented by the icon, and wherein adistance of the icon from a center of the circular pattern correspondsto a second subset of particular characteristics of music associatedwith the particular emotion/concept/state represented by the icon (block520). This map of the plurality of icons may be displayed to the user orthe circular pattern may merely be used by the computer to mapparticular emotions/concepts to a particular musical generationalgorithm.

After determining at least one emotion/concept/state contained withinthe communication (block 505), the method may further determine theposition on the circumference of the circular pattern of at least oneicon associated with the determined at least one particularemotion/concept/state or the angle of the at least one icon associatedwith the determined at least one particular emotion/concept/state on thecircular pattern and the distance of the particular icon associated withthe determined at least one particular emotion/concept/state/adjectivefrom the center of the circular pattern (block 525). Based on thedetermination of the position or angle and the distance of the at leastone icon associated with the determined at least oneemotion/concept/state, the method, at block 530, may autonomouslygenerate music having the first subset of particular characteristics andthe second subset of particular characteristics associated with thedetermined at least one icon associated with the at least one determinedemotion/concept/state of the communication.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a method 600 for implementing auser interface for the generation of music, in accordance with variousembodiments.

While the techniques and procedures are depicted and/or described in acertain order for purposes of illustration, it should be appreciatedthat certain procedures may be reordered and/or omitted within the scopeof various embodiments. Moreover, while the method 600 illustrated byFIG. 6 can be implemented by or with (and, in some cases, are describedbelow with respect to) the system 100 of FIG. 1 (or components thereof),the user interface 200 of FIG. 2 (or components thereof), the system 300of FIG. 3 (or components thereof), the mapping system 400 of FIG. 4 (orcomponents thereof), and/or the mapping system of FIG. 9 (or componentsthereof), such methods may also be implemented using any suitablehardware (or software) implementation. Similarly, while each of thesystem 100 of FIG. 1 (or components thereof) user interface 200 of FIG.2 (or components thereof), the system 300 of FIG. 3 (or componentsthereof), the mapping system 400 of FIG. 4 (or components thereof),and/or the mapping system of FIG. 9 (or components thereof), can operateaccording to the method 600 illustrated by FIG. 6 (e.g., by executinginstructions embodied on a computer readable medium), the system 100 ofFIG. 1 user interface 200 of FIG. 2, the system 300 of FIG. 3, themapping system 400 of FIG. 4, and/or the mapping system of FIG. 9 caneach also operate according to other modes of operation and/or performother suitable procedures.

Although method 600 is described with respect to emotions/concepts, asimilar method may be used for different states of an environment ordifferent states of a user which may include at least one of an emotionof a user, a mental state of a user, a feeling of a user, a physicalstate of a user, a location of the user a, a physical position of auser, a level of activity of a user, an action of a user, or differentstates of an environment, and/or the like. In the non-limitingembodiment of FIG. 6, method 600, at block 605, might comprisegenerating with a computing system, a circular pattern having aplurality of different emotions represented by icons, wherein at leastone of a position of a particular icon on the circular patterncorresponds to a set of characteristics of a plurality ofcharacteristics of music associated with a particular emotionrepresented by the particular icon. The set of characteristics maycorrespond to positivity/negativity and/or intensity described withrespect to FIGS. 3 and 4 and/or any other characteristics of music. Atblock 610, method 600 may further analyze, with a computing system, acommunication to determine at least one emotion contained within thecommunication.

Additionally and/or alternative, the method 600, at block 615 mayautonomously determine, with the computing system, the position of atleast one icon corresponding to the determined at least one emotioncontained within the communication on the circular pattern. The method600 may then, based on the determination of the position of thedetermined at least one particular icon on the circular pattern,autonomously generate, with the computing system, music having the setcharacteristics associated with the determined at least one emotioncontained within the communication (block 620).

FIGS. 7A-7C (collectively, FIG. 7) are flow diagrams illustrating amethod 700 for implementing a user interface for the generation ofmusic, in accordance with various embodiments.

While the techniques and procedures are depicted and/or described in acertain order for purposes of illustration, it should be appreciatedthat certain procedures may be reordered and/or omitted within the scopeof various embodiments. Moreover, while the method 700 illustrated byFIG. 7 can be implemented by or with (and, in some cases, are describedbelow with respect to) the system 100 of FIG. 1 (or components thereof)the user interface 200 of FIG. 2 (or components thereof), the system 300of FIG. 3 (or components thereof), the mapping system 400 of FIG. 4 (orcomponents thereof), and/or the mapping system of FIG. 9 (or componentsthereof), such methods may also be implemented using any suitablehardware (or software) implementation. Similarly, while each of thesystem 100 of FIG. 1 (or components thereof) user interface 200 of FIG.2 (or components thereof), the system 300 of FIG. 3 (or componentsthereof), the mapping system 400 of FIG. 4 (or components thereof),and/or the mapping system of FIG. 9 (or components thereof), can operateaccording to the method 700 illustrated by FIG. 7 (e.g., by executinginstructions embodied on a computer readable medium), the system 100 ofFIG. 1, user interface 200 of FIG. 2, the system 300 of FIG. 3, themapping system 400, and/or the mapping system of FIG. 9 can each alsooperate according to other modes of operation and/or perform othersuitable procedures.

Although method 700 is described with respect to emotions/concepts, asimilar method may be used for different environmental states ordifferent states of a user which may include at least one of an emotionof a user, a feeling of a user, a location of the user a, a physicalposition of a user, a level of activity of a user, an action of a user,and/or the like. In the non-limiting embodiment of FIG. 7, method 700,at block 705, may comprise generating, with a computing system, acircular pattern having a plurality of different emotions represented byicons (or a position on the circular pattern), wherein at least one of aposition on a circumference of the circular pattern or an angle of thecircular pattern corresponds to a first subset of characteristics of aplurality of characteristics of music associated with a particularemotion represented by a particular icon (or position), and wherein adistance from a center of the circular pattern corresponds to a secondsubset of characteristics of the plurality of characteristics of musicassociated with a particular emotion represented by a particular icon.

Although icons are used in the method described below, states oremotions may also be mapped to particular regions/positions and theregions/positions may be used instead of icons to generate music.

Instead of a circular pattern, a graph may also be used. The method 400might alternatively include generating, with a computing system, a graphhaving a plurality of different states mapped to different positions onthe graph. An x-axis might correspond to a first subset ofcharacteristics of a plurality of characteristics of music while ay-axis might correspond to a second subset of characteristics of theplurality of characteristics of music. In this way each axis serves as aseparate input into the generative music system. Moving along the X-axisand/or Y axis might cause the first or second parameters of music tochange. Based on a determination of the position of a first state, thecomputing system may synthesize the one or more first subset ofcharacteristics of music together with the one or more secondcharacteristics of music.

In a non-limiting example, the angle of an icon/position of a stateand/or the position of an icon on the circumference of the circularpattern may correspond to a positivity/negativity parameter of music(described with respect to FIGS. 3 and 4) while the distance of the iconfrom the center of the circle may correspond to an intensity parameterof music (described with respect to FIGS. 3 and 4). Additionally and/oralternatively, the angle of an icon and/or the position of an icon onthe circumference of the circular pattern may correspond to an intensityparameter of music (described with respect to FIGS. 3, 4, and 9) whilethe distance of the icon from the center of the circle may correspond toa positivity/negativity parameter of music (described with respect toFIGS. 3, 4, and 9).

The music associated with the emotions is not limited to onlypositivity/negativity and/or intensity parameters. A variety ofparameters (instead of positivity/negativity and/or intensity) may beused to create music associated with each emotion. There is virtually anunlimited number of ways to position icons associated with emotions onthe circular pattern and group icons associated with emotions togetherin a particular region on the circular pattern.

The computing system may be at least one of a desktop computer, a laptopcomputer, a tablet, a smart phone, an e-reader, and/or the like.Additionally and/or alternatively, in some embodiments, the computingsystem might include, without limitation, one of a processor of aset-top box, a processor of a digital video recording (“DVR”) device, aprocessor of a user device running a software application (“app”), aprocessor of an audio playback device, a processor on an input device(e.g., fitness tracker, EEG device, or the like) running an app, aprocessor of a media player, a processor of a gaming console, aprocessor in audio equipment, and/or the like.

The icons used to represent the different emotions may be at least oneof a text icon that represents the particular emotion (e.g., “HAPPY,”“SAD,” or the like) and/or an emoji (e.g., ©) that represents aparticular emotion. Additionally and/or alternatively, states may bemapped to particular regions of a circular pattern or graph without theuse of icons and music may be generated based on the position of thestate within the circular pattern or graph.

The first subset of characteristics of music may include at least one ofa note pattern, a harmony, a tone, an orchestration, a speed, a volume,and/or the like associated with the first emotion indicated by the usercommunication. The second subset of characteristics may include at leastone of a note pattern, a harmony, a tone, an orchestration, a speed, avolume, and/or the like associated with the first emotion indicated bythe user communication. In a non-limiting example, the position of anicon on the circumference of the circle and/or an angle of the icon maycorrespond to a particular musical/note arrangement and/or musicalalgorithm and all emotions that are located in a position/angle may havethe same or similar musical/note arrangement and/or musical algorithm. Adistance from center may correspond to a particular volume or speed ofthe same or similar musical/note arrangement and/or musical algorithm.Thus, each icon on the circular pattern will be different (if onlyslightly) from every other icon on the circular pattern.

Method 700, at block 710, may further comprise analyzing, with acomputing system, a communication to determine at least one emotioncontained within the communication. The communication may be at leastone of an IoT communication, biometric/health communication, a voicecommunication, a textual communication, a photographic communication, avideo communication, a tactile communication, and/or the like.

The biometric/health communication may be received from at least one ofa fitness tracker or an electroencephalography (“EEG”) device and thecomputing system may determine the at least one mental state of a personbased on feedback from the at least one of the fitness tracker or theEEG device. In a non-limniting example, the fitness tracker and/or EEGdevice may provide feedback about the attention level, relaxation level,a blood pressure of a user, a heart rate of a user, electrical brainwaves of a user, and/or the like. Based on the mental state, bloodpressure, the heart rate, the electrical brain waves and/or the like,the computing system may determine a mental state that a user isexperiencing. Merely by way of example, if the user has an elevatedblood pressure and a high heart rate the computing system may determinethat a user of the fitness tracker and/or EEG device is feelingstressed.

The voice communication may be received via user input or from a phonecall between a calling party and a called party. In order to determinethe at least one emotion of a person, the computing system may parse thevoice communication of the at least one person and/or determine a toneof voice of at least one person. Merely by way of example, if thecommunication is via phone, the computing system may parse the voicecommunication between the calling party and the called party todetermine how each party is feeling. Additionally and/or alternatively,the computing system may analyze the tone of voice of each party todetermine what emotions each party is experiencing.

With regard to the textual communications, the computing system mayanalyze text messages, instant messages, social media posts, emails,books, and/or the like to determine an emotion that a user isexperiencing. The computing system may parse the text of the textualcommunication to determine the emotion of a person. Merely by way ofexample, the computing system may parse the text for key words such as“happy” or “sad” and/or the computing system may parse the textualcommunication for emojis to determine the mood of a person.

The photographic communication may be a photograph taken with a camera.The computing system may then use facial recognition tools to determinea displayed emotion of at least one person in the photograph. The videocommunication may be taken with a video camera. The video communicationmay also be a video phone call between at least two parties. Thecomputing system may then use facial recognition tools to determine adisplayed emotion of the at least one person in the video. The computingsystem may also use tools to analyze body language or gestures of the atleast one person in the video communication to determine an emotion thatthe at least one person is experiencing. The computing system mayfurther parse the dialogue of the at least one person in the video oranalyze the tone of voice of at least one person in the videocommunication to determine an emotion that the at least one person inthe video is experiencing.

The tactile communication may be received via user input from a touchscreen and/or a mouse. The user may select one or more iconsrepresenting an emotion on a display that is displaying the circularpattern of emotions to generate music associated with that emotion. Thecomputing system may determine whether the user selected at least twoicons by tracking the tactile communication of the user with the displaydevice. Based on a determination that at least two icons have beenselected, the computing system may determine whether the tactile input,when selecting the at least two icons, was continuous input. In otherwords, continuous input would occur when a user remains in constanttactile contact with the display device and/or if the user holds downthe left button of the mouse. Non-continuous input would occur if theuser lifts his or her finger/hand from the display device and/or lets goof the left mouse button. Based on a determination that the tactileinput was not continuous, the method 700 may pause the generated musicbetween each user selection of an icon. Based on a determination thatthe tactile input was continuous, the method 700 may transition betweenplaying music associated with each of the at least two emotions selectedby the tactile input. Touching the interface may turn on the sound,while lifting the finger turns it off. The position of the finger,velocity, direction finger is moving may be used to control the soundthat is generated. In other cases, the sound is always on and the fingerinput can be used to influence the sound.

If the computing system cannot keep up with the tactile communication ofthe user (via tactile, mouse, or the like), then the computing systemmay create a time lag between the selection of each icon and thegeneration of music associated with each icon. Additionally and/oralternatively, the computing system may play the generated music foreach selected icon for a predetermined amount of time beforetransitioning to music associated with a subsequent selected icon.

Interpolation, both smooth and quantized, may also be used to allow forthe gradual transitioning between music associated with at least twoemotions. In other words, once the computing system determines that anew emotion has been included in a communication and/or selected by auser, different aspects of the music will the transition between thestates associated between the at least two emotions. Unusually jumpyrapid, jumpy movements in the communication, signal noise, and/orindicated by user selection (unexpectedly rapid signals) will be handledvia standard smoothing filters for control signals.

Depending on the type of communication the computing system receives,the circular pattern may be displayed to the user on a user interfaceand/or the circular pattern may merely be used by the computing systemto create differences between music associated with a particularemotion. For example, if the computing system is receiving a tactilecommunication, then the tactile input may be received on a userinterface that is displaying the communication. However, if thecomputing system is receiving a voice communication, then the computingsystem may determine where the emotion is on the circular pattern todetermine what type of music to generate, without displaying thecircular pattern to the user.

Merely by way of example, method 700, at block 715 may further compriseautonomously determining, with the computing system, the position of atleast one particular icon corresponding to the at least one particularemotion on the circumference of the circular pattern and the distance ofthe at least one particular icon corresponding to the at least oneparticular emotion from the center of the circular pattern. Based on thedetermination of the position of the determined at least one particularicon on the circumference of the circular pattern or the angle of thedetermined at least one particular icon and the distance of thedetermined at least one particular icon from the center of the circularpattern, the computing system may autonomously generate music having thefirst subset of characteristics and the second subset of characteristicsassociated with the at least one emotion contained within thecommunication (block 720).

Additionally and/or alternatively, the communication may furtherindicate at least one of an age and/or sex of a person. The one or morefirst characteristics of a plurality of characteristics of music mayfurther be associated with the at least one of the age or the sexindicated by the communication. The music that is generated further hasthe one or more first characteristics of the plurality ofcharacteristics associated with the at least one of the age or the sexindicated by the communication.

The generated music may further have human-like embellishments. Thehuman-like embellishments may be created from at least one of timingjitter, frequency jitter, timbral jitter, and/or the like.

Human performers have a natural imprecision which must be explicitlyaccounted for in computer generated music. To do this, irregularmicro-fluctuations are added to the timing of note onsets. This kind ofsmall random signal bias is often referred to as “timing jitter.” As aresult, quantized notes are gently un-quantized to provide a morepleasing and human-sounding musical aesthetic. Timing jitter providessubtle rhythmic variation that add nuance to the static note patterns.

Similar to jittered timing offsets (“timing jitter”), “frequency jitter”is utilized to modulate the frequency (pitch) of the generated music.Depending on the duration and articulation of the note, frequency jitterparameters will change. For instance, long sustained notes will besubject to more evolved jitter (gradual drift), a technique to addwarmth to the timbre; while shorter, more percussive notes will havelittle to no jitter.

Jitter may also be mapped to a number of other parameters in charge ofproducing timbre or the sound qualities of the notes. This referred toas “timbral jitter.” These parameters exist due in part to the real-timeaudio synthesis engine, which allow dynamic control of a sound over timevia digital signal processing.

Additionally and/or alternatively, a non-limiting embodiment of method700, at block 725, may comprise autonomously determining, with thecomputing system, whether at least two emotions are contained within thecommunication. Based on a determination that at least two emotions arecontained within the communication, method 700 may simultaneouslygenerate, play, and harmonize music associated with each emotion (block730) and/or transition between music associated with each emotion(blocks 735-760).

Merely by way of example, method 700 at block 730 may comprise, based ona determination that at least two emotions are contained within thecommunication, simultaneously generating, playing, and shaping musichaving the particular first subset of characteristics and the particularsecond set of characteristics associated with each of the at least twoemotions contained within the communication. In other words, if morethan one emotion is present in the communication, the music associatedwith each determined emotion may be generated and played at the sametime. The music associated with each emotion may further be harmonizedto ensure that the sound that is generated is pleasing to hear.

Additionally and/or alternatively, method 700, at block 735, may furthercomprise, based on a determination that more than one emotion iscontained within the communication, determining an order to generate andplay music associated with each of the at least two emotions. The ordermay be determined based on the order that the emotions appear in a text,video, and/or voice communication or the order may be based on who isspeaking in a voice or video communication. At block 740, the method 700may transition, with the computing system, between generating andplaying music associated with each of the at least two emotions. Inother words, the method 700 may play music associated with each emotionseparately. Music associated with a particular emotion may be played fora predetermined period of time before transitioning to music associatedwith the next determined emotion.

Additionally and/or alternatively, method 700 may smoothly transitionbetween music associated with each emotion. In order to do this, afterdetermining an order to generate and play music (block 745), method 700,at block 775, may further comprise autonomously determining, with thecomputing system, the position and/or angle of the at least twoparticular icons corresponding to the at least two particular emotionson the circumference of the circular pattern and the distance of theparticular icon corresponding to the particular emotion from the centerof the circular pattern. Method 700 may further autonomously determine,with the computing system, icons corresponding to additional emotionsbetween the at least two particular icons corresponding to the at leasttwo particular emotions (block 750). Method 700, at block 755, may thentransition, with the computing system, between playing music associatedwith each of the at least two emotions contained within thecommunication by playing music associated with the determined additionalemotions between music associated with the at least two particular iconscorresponding to the at least two particular emotions. By playing musicassociated with the determined additional emotions between musicassociated with the at least two particular icons corresponding to theat least two particular emotions, the transition between music may besmoother and less dissonant.

Additionally and/or alternatively, method 700 may synchronize musicassociated with a subset of emotions while transitioning between musicassociated with another subset of emotions.

Method 700 may additionally comprise steps to ensure that the userinterface and music generation system can effectively transition betweenmusic associated each determined emotion. In some situations, a user mayselect icons associated with particular emotions or send communicationcontaining text or emojis representing emotions quicker than thecomputer can generate and output the music, in order to address thosesituations, method 700, at block 760 may comprise receiving, with thecomputing system, at least one additional user communication from auser, the at least one additional user communication being indicative ofat least one additional emotion. Next, the computing system maydetermine a number of user communications over a specified period oftime (block 765) and determine whether the number of user communicationsexceeds a predetermined threshold (block 770).

Based on a determination that the number of user communications does notexceed the predetermined threshold, method 700, at block 775, mayfurther comprise autonomously determining, with the computing system,one or more first characteristics of a plurality of characteristics ofmusic associated with the second emotion indicated by the second usercommunication, and autonomously transitioning from generating musichaving the one or more first characteristics of the plurality ofcharacteristics associated with the first emotion indicated by the userto generating music having the one or more first characteristics of theplurality of characteristics associated with the second emotionindicated by the user. Based on a determination that the number of usercommunications does exceed the predetermined threshold, method 700, atblock 780, may comprise pausing, with the computing system, the musicbeing generated.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating a method 800 for generating musicassociated with an emotion, in accordance with various embodiments.

While the techniques and procedures are depicted and/or described in acertain order for purposes of illustration, it should be appreciatedthat certain procedures may be reordered and/or omitted within the scopeof various embodiments. Moreover, while the method 800 illustrated byFIG. 8 can be implemented by or with (and, in some cases, are describedbelow with respect to) the system 100 of FIG. 1 (or components thereof)the user interface 200 of FIG. 2 (or components thereof), the system 300of FIG. 3 (or components thereof), the mapping system 400 of FIG. 4 (orcomponents thereof), and/or the mapping system of FIG. 9 (or componentsthereof), such methods may also be implemented using any suitablehardware (or software) implementation. Similarly, while each of thesystem 100 of FIG. 1 (or components thereof) user interface 200 of FIG.2 (or components thereof), the system 300 of FIG. 3 (or componentsthereof), the mapping system 400 of FIG. 4 (or components thereof),and/or the mapping system of FIG. 9 (or components thereof), can operateaccording to the method 800 illustrated by FIG. 8 (e.g., by executinginstructions embodied on a computer readable medium), the system 100 ofFIG. 1 user interface 200 of FIG. 2, the system 300 of FIG. 3, themapping system 400 of FIG. 4, and/or the mapping system of FIG. 9 caneach also operate according to other modes of operation and/or performother suitable procedures.

Although method 800 is described with respect to emotions/concepts, asimilar method may be used for different states of a user which mayinclude at least one of an emotion of a user, a feeling of a user, alocation of the user a, a physical position of a user, a level ofactivity of a user, an action of a user, and/or the like. In anon-limiting embodiment, method 800, at block 805 may comprise defining,with a computing system, a predetermined set of notes. Next, method 800,at block 810 may comprise defining, with the computing system, at leastone of a note pattern, a note range, a harmony, a tone, anorchestration, a speed, or a volume associated with a particularemotion. At block 815, method 800 may comprise generating, with thecomputing system, music associated with the at least one of the notepattern, the note range, the harmony, the frequencies, theorchestration, the speed, note amplitude envelope or the outputamplitude associated with the particular emotion. At block 820, method800, may comprise adding, with the computing system, human-likeembellishments to the generated music.

FIGS. 9 and 10 represent methods, systems, and apparatuses forexercising continuous control over music generation to guide a usertoward a desired state or goal. Each of the methods, systems, andapparatuses described with respect to FIGS. 9 and 10 may be incorporatedinto the different embodiments described with respect to FIGS. 1-8.Additionally, each of the different embodiments described with respectto FIGS. 1-8 may be incorporated into the different embodimentsdescribed with respect to FIGS. 9 and 10. In a non-limiting example,circular interface 200 may be used to implement different embodimentsdescribed in FIGS. 9 and 10. Additionally, graphical interface 900 d maybe used in place of circular interface 200 and function in a similarmanner as circular interface 200. Other patterns/shapes may be used asan interface (e.g., a three-dimensional graph, a triangle, a square, anoval, etc.).

FIGS. 9A-9E are schematic diagrams illustrating systems 900 forcontinuously controlling the generation of music/audio/sound to guide auser toward a desired state, in accordance with various embodiments.FIGS. 9A and 9B are directed towards guiding a user from a firstlocation or first position to a second location or position. FIG. 9Arepresents a system 900 a using one parameter (distance to goal) 905 tocontinuously control the one or more parameters of music/audio/sound.FIG. 9B represents a system 900 b using two parameters (distance to goaland movement direction) 905 and 910 to continuously control one or moreparameters of music/audio/sound. FIG. 9C represents a system 900 c usingthree parameters to continuously control the generation ofmusic/audio/sound. FIG. 9D represents a XY coordinate system 900 d formapping different states to music/audio/sound and for transitioningbetween music/audio/sound associated with different states.

FIGS. 9A and 9B include systems 900 a and 900 b for mappingmusic/audio/sound to different parameters to guide a user toward adesired goal. The different parameters may correspond to a state of auser and may include, but are not limited to, at least one of a distanceto goal, a direction of movement, an amount of movement, a breathingpattern, a heart rate, a state in a video game, a step rate, an exerciserate or pattern, an amount of perspiration, a brainwave pattern, and/orthe like. FIG. 9A has one mapping parameter 905—distance to goal. FIG.9B has two mapping parameters 905 and 910 which (for this model)represent distance to goal and movement direction with respect to goaland previous point, respectively. Although only two mapping parametersare shown in FIG. 9B, more than two parameters may be used to map musicto different states and control the generation of music as shown in FIG.9C. Additionally, one mapping parameter may control one or moremusical/audio/sound elements.

Mapping parameters 905 and 910 may correspond or map to one or moremusical/audio/sound characteristics 915 a-915 n. The different musicalcharacteristics might correspond to a note pattern, a harmony, a tone,pitch, a density, vocal-like qualities, elements of surprise,randomization, consistency, an orchestration, a speed, a rhythm, avolume, note envelope, control signal envelope, rate, amplitude on partof signal, and/or the like designed to guide a user toward a desiredstate.

Each value that is given to a particular state may be used to generateand continuously control music to guide a user toward a desired state(e.g., from a first location to a second location). The music may becontinuously controlled based on one or more sensor inputs. For example,one or more sensors may be used to detect user movement/motion. As auser moves, the sensors may detect whether the user is moving closer toa desired second location or away from a desired second location. Basedon the input from the sensors, the computing system may the generatemusic indicating that the user is moving closer to or away from thedesired second location. The computing system may continuously controland/or change the generated music based on input from the one or moresensors to guide the user toward the desired location.

Additionally and/or alternatively, in a two-parameter model, one or moresensors may be used to detect a user's position relative to a desiredlocation and a user's direction of movement. As a user moves, thesensors may detect (1) whether the user is moving closer to a desiredsecond location or away from a desired second location and (2) thedirection (angle relative to the desired location) the user is moving.Based on the input from the sensors, the computing system may thegenerate music indicating (1) that the user is moving closer to or awayfrom the desired second location and/or (2) the direction the user ismoving relative to the object. In a non-limiting example, the rhythm ofthe music/audio/sound may increase as the user gets closer to thedesired location while the music/audio/sound becomes more random if theuser is heading in the wrong direction. The computing system maycontinuously control and/or change the generated music/audio/sound basedon input from the one or more sensors to guide the user toward thedesired location.

Music attributes 915 a-915 n may further vary based on the type ofapplication/communication (e.g., voice, text, speech, fitness tracker,EEG device, smart watch, AR/VR device, facial recognition device,camera, user input, and/or the like), the demographics (e.g., age, sex,and/or the like) of the user, the user's preferences, input from a user,and/or the like.

FIG. 9C represents a model having 900c three musical/sound/audiocharacteristics: (1) amplitude (volume of music/audio/sound), (2) attackrate (rhythm, arpeggiation), and (3) note probabilities (how likely aparticular note will be played). State 1 (current state) has threecorresponding values for amplitude, attack rate, and note probabilitiesand state 2 (goal state) has three different corresponding values foramplitude, attack rate, and note probabilities. One or more sensors maybe used to measure where a user is i.e. state 1, state 2, or betweenstates 1 and 2. Based on the measured state of the user,music/audio/sound may be continuously generated and controlled to lead auser from state 1 to state 2. In a non-limiting example, movementdirection may control attack rate and note probabilities while distancefrom goal may control amplitude.

FIG. 9D represents an XY coordinate system 900 d for mapping differentstates to a region on an XY coordinate system. This XY coordinate system900 d may be used in place of or in addition to circular interface 200shown in FIG. 2 and function in a similar way as circular interface 200to control one or more musical parameters. The position on a two ormore-dimensional graph can be used as coordinates to drive a multi-inputmusic system where different axes control different musical attributes.The X-axis might correspond to one or more characteristics ofmusic/audio/sound while the Y-axis might correspond to one or moredifferent characteristics of music/audio/sound. In a non-limitingexample, The X-axis might correspond to a valence of music/audio/sound,i.e. positive/minor notes, randomness/synchronicity of notes, and/or thelike, while the Y-axis might correspond to intensity ofmusic/audio/sound, i.e. loudness, number of beats per minute, and/or thelike.

Each state may be mapped to a region on the XY coordinate system shownin FIG. 9D. The XY coordinate system is not limited to only being a XYplane. The XY plane could be any pattern/shape (e.g., an oval, circle,triangle, square, rectangle, grid, XYZ coordinate system, 2-D model, 3-Dmodel, etc.). A person of ordinary skill in the art would understandthat any pattern may act in a similar manner as the XY plane describedbelow.

The XY plane 900 d may be displayed to a user on a computing systemand/or communication device. Additionally and/or alternatively, thecomputing system and/or communication device may use the XY plane todetermine one or more musical parameters corresponding to a user'sdetermined state.

A user may interact with XY plane 900 d via tactile input and/or mouseinput. Additionally and/or alternatively, the XY plane 900 d may be usedby a computing system and/or user device to determine what music to playbased on a state contained within a communication (e.g., at least one ofa sensor communication, an IoT communication, a biometric/healthcommunication, a voice communication, a textual communication, aphotographic communication, a video communication, and/or the like). Acomputing system may determine where a particular state is mapped on XYplane 900 d and access and play the algorithm associated with theparticular state based on where the state is positioned on the XY plane900 d.

Based on the user interaction with the XY plane 900 d and/or based on adetermined state from a communication, the computing system maydetermine the distance from an x-axis on the XY plane 900 d associatedwith the determined at least one particular state and/or a distance froma y-axis on the XY plane 900 d. Based on the determination of theposition (distance from x-axis and/or y-axis) associated with thedetermined at least one state, the computing system and/or user devicemay generate music having the valence and the intensity associated withthe determined at least one state of the communication.

Additionally and/or alternatively, the XY plane 900 d may facilitatetransitioning between music associated with a first particular state tomusic associated with a second particular state. In FIG. 9D, stateslocated in different regions of XY plane 900 d. A user may firstindicate a first state (state 1) via touch input, mouse input, and/or byindicating a state in a communication.

If the selection is made via touch or a mouse and after a first userindication is made, then a computing system and/or communication devicemay track a user's interaction with the XY plane 900 d. A user maycontinue to drag his or her finger or other device (e.g., mouse, stylus,and/or the like) along a path on the XY plane 900 d indicating that themusic that is generated should transition between music associated withat least two states. The music that is generated may transition in realtime or near real time based on the user's interaction with the XY plane900 d. For example, if the user stops for a period of time on aparticular region associated with a state, then the music associatedwith that particular state may play for that period of time until theuser stops selecting the region and/or moves on to a different regionassociated with a different state. Additionally and/or alternatively,each state that the user selects by dragging his or her finger or otherdevice (e.g., mouse, stylus, and/or the like) along a XY plane 900 d mayplay music associated with that particular state for a predeterminedamount of time (e.g., until a note is finished playing, until a sequenceis complete, and/or the like) before transitioning on to the musicassociated with the next selected state/region. In some cases, thepredetermined amount of time may be selected by a user of XY plane 900d.

The computing system and/or user device may also introduce some lag sothat music that is generated by user interaction is not generated inreal time. For example, if the user drags his or her finger or deviceover XY plane 900 d quickly, the computing system may not be able totransition between music associated with different states smoothly. Byintroducing lag, the computing system may smoothly transition betweenmusic associated with different emotions.

Additionally and/or alternatively, if a user picks up his finger and/ordevice, a computer may determine that a user would like to pause betweentransitioning between a first selected state and an additional selectedstate. The music may turn off or continue to play in static position. Ifthe user rests on a particular state, the music can still becontinuously generated.

If a selection of more than one state is made via a communication (e.g.,at least one of a sensor communication, an IoT communication, abiometric/health communication, a voice communication, a textualcommunication, a photographic communication, a video communication,and/or the like) and the communication contains at least two states,then a computing device may determine a path on XY plane 900 d between afirst selected state and at least one additional state. Using the statesbetween the first selected state and at least one additional state, thecomputing system may smoothly transition between playing musicassociated with each of the at least two states contained within thecommunication by playing music associated with the determined additionalstates between music associated with the at least two particular statesindicated in the communication.

Additionally and/or alternatively, the generated music may transitionbetween music associated with the at least two states indicated in thecommunication by pausing music associated with a first indicated statebefore playing music associated with a second indicated state.

In a non-limiting example, a computing system may determine that theuser's goal state is state 2. In order to determine a user's goal state,a user may select an option for a desired state (e.g., work-out option,navigation option, etc.) on a user interface (e.g., circular interface200, interface 900 d, or other interface. etc.). Additionally and/oralternatively, a computing system may receive feedback from one or moresensors (e.g., an indication of a high stress state, etc.) and determinea user's goal state (e.g., calm, relaxed, etc.) based on the feedbackfrom the one or more sensors. In some cases, a user may also select alength of time or a distance (e.g., a mile, a kilometer, etc.) to runthe music generation application.

Based on one or more sensor inputs, the computing system may determinethat the user is currently at state 1, between state 1 and 2, how closea user is to state 2, and/or the like. The computing system mightcontinuously control synthesized music/audio/sound to guide the user tostate 2 based on the one or more sensor inputs and/or indicate to a userhow far away or close the user is to state 2. As the user gets closer tostate 2, the music will adapt to incorporate more elements of state 2.As the user gets further from state 2 the music will adapt toincorporate more elements of state 1. Thus, a user may receivecontinuous feedback about how close he or she is to state 1 or state 2.

FIG. 9E represents a schematic diagram 900 e for receiving multipleinputs from different sources to generate music associated with one ormore states, in accordance with various embodiments. The music that isgenerated may be influenced by a passive control (e.g.,sensor/communication input) and/or an active control (e.g., a userinterface). Additionally and/or alternatively, the music that isgenerated may be based on input from two passive controls (e.g., twosensors, etc.) and/or two active controls (e.g., two user interfaces,two inputs via a user interface, etc.) and the music/sound that isgenerated from the two passive controls and/or two active controls maybe generated based on a similar method described below.

In various embodiments, a first source 920 might be received from one ormore passive source(s) (e.g., one or more sensors and/or communications(e.g., an IoT communication, a biometric/health communication, a voicecommunication, a textual communication, a picture communication, a videocommunication, a haptic communication, etc.)). Data received from thepassive source 920 may be continuously received, received periodically(e.g., every second, every minute, every hour, and/or the like), and/orreceived once. Data received from the passive source 920 may beprocessed through a data processing algorithm 925 to determine a stateof a user and/or an environment. The determined state of the user and/orenvironment may be mapped to a location as shown in FIG. 9D and/or FIG.2, given a binary value, and/or given a number between 0 and 1 (930).The location, binary value, and/or number may control one or moremusical parameters and cause a computing system to generate music basedon the one or more audio feature parameter values (935). The music thatis generated may be continuously updated/controlled by the continuousone or more active or passive inputs, regularly updated/controlled basedon inputs received periodically, updated only when a discrete message isreceived, and/or the like.

In some cases, a second source 940 may be added to control thegeneration of music. The second source 940 may be an active source whichreceives direct user input via a user interface (e.g., user interface200, user interface 900 d), a touch screen, one or more actuatedbuttons, and/or the like. A user may control one or more of turning themusic off and on, a genre of music created, one or more musicalinstruments being played, transitioning between different types ofmusic, selecting different states, selecting a goal state, and/or thelike.

The music generated from the inputs (e.g., first source 920 and secondsource 940) may be harmonized, layered, cross-faded, and/or the like.For example, the music may start out generating a user's current statebased on sensor input and based on a selection from a user via a userinterface of a goal state, the music that is generated may thentransition/change to guide a user from a first state to a second state.Additionally and/or alternatively, in another non-limiting example, themusic that is generated based on sensor input may have one or moremusical attributes and a user selection of age, genre, etc. may causethe music to adapt or change based on the selections. Additionallyand/or alternatively, the music generated based on one or more sensorsmay adapt or change as a user drags his or her finger over a userinterface (e.g., user interface 200 and/or 900 d).

In another non-limiting example, sensor input may be received from twopassive sources e.g., two biometric inputs, a biometric input and acamera, etc. The sensor input may be associated with two different usersand/or participants in a race or competitive activity. The music that isgenerated may be used to reflect a user's position in the race orcompetitive activity. The music may speed up or slow down to reflect ifthe user is ahead or behind other participants in the race orcompetitive activity.

These are only some examples of the different ways music may begenerated using two different input sources.

Although FIGS. 9A-9E are directed toward guiding a user from a firststate to a second state, similar methods may be used to exercisecontinuous control over music generation to guide a user toward otherparticular desired states or goals. Additionally and/or alternatively,similar methods may be used to transition between environmental states(e.g., transitioning from sunny to rainy weather, transitioning from onetemperature to another temperature, and/or the like). Additionallyand/or alternatively, the user interface described with respect to FIGS.2-4 may be used to exercise continuous control music generation to guidea user from a first state to a second desired state.

For example, systems similar to those described in FIGS. 2-4 and 9 maybe used to continuously control the generation of music to guide a userfrom a stressful/aroused state to a relaxed/calm state, from anon-meditative state to a meditative state, from an unfocused state to afocused state, from a negative state to a positive state, from a stateof inactivity to a state of activity, from a slow breathing pattern to afast breathing pattern, from a fast breathing pattern to a slowbreathing pattern, from a slow heartbeat to a fast heartbeat, from aslow heartbeat to a fast heartbeat, from bad posture to good posture,from less movement to more movement and vice versa, from a bad bodyposition to a good body position, and/or the like. Additionally and/oralternatively, systems similar to those described in FIGS. 2-4 and 9 maybe used to continuously control the generation of music to guide a userthrough a workout (warm-up, exercise, cool-down, etc.).

Additionally and/or alternatively, systems similar to those described inFIGS. 2-4 and 9 may be used to continuously control the generation ofmusic to sync to at least one of a running speed of the user, aheartbeat of the user, a breathing pattern of the user, a brainwavepattern of the user, and/or the like. In this manner, a user may receiveinstant feedback about his or her current state.

In various embodiments, these systems and methods may be used tocontinuously generate music that reflects a user's current state and maybe constantly adapted/changed in real-time as the user's state changes.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating a method 1000 for continuouslycontrolling the generation of the music to guide a user toward a goal,in accordance with various embodiments.

While the techniques and procedures are depicted and/or described in acertain order for purposes of illustration, it should be appreciatedthat certain procedures may be reordered and/or omitted within the scopeof various embodiments. Moreover, while the method 1000 illustrated byFIG. 10 can be implemented by or with (and, in some cases, are describedbelow with respect to) the system 100 of FIG. 1 (or components thereof)the user interface 200 of FIG. 2 (or components thereof), the system 300of FIG. 3 (or components thereof), the mapping system 400 of FIG. 4 (orcomponents thereof), and/or the mapping system of FIG. 9 (or componentsthereof), such methods may also be implemented using any suitablehardware (or software) implementation. Similarly, while each of thesystem 100 of FIG. 1 (or components thereof) user interface 200 of FIG.2 (or components thereof), the system 300 of FIG. 3 (or componentsthereof), the mapping system 400 of FIG. 4 (or components thereof),and/or the mapping system of FIG. 9 (or components thereof), can operateaccording to the method 1000 illustrated by FIG. 10 (e.g., by executinginstructions embodied on a computer readable medium), the system 100 ofFIG. 1 user interface 200 of FIG. 2, the system 300 of FIG. 3, themapping system 400 of FIG. 4, and/or the mapping system of FIG. 9 caneach also operate according to other modes of operation and/or performother suitable procedures.

In the non-limiting embodiment of FIG. 10, method 1000, at block 1005,might comprise receiving, with a computing system, at least one sensorinput associated with a user and/or an environment.

The computing system may be at least one of a desktop computer, a laptopcomputer, a tablet, a smart phone, an e-reader, and/or the like.Additionally and/or alternatively, in some embodiments, the computingsystem might include, without limitation, one of a processor of aset-top box, a processor of a digital video recording (“DVR”) device, aprocessor of a user device running a software application (“app”), aprocessor of an audio playback device, a processor on an input device(e.g., fitness tracker, EEG device, or the like) running an app, aprocessor of a media player, a processor of a gaming console, aprocessor in audio equipment, and/or the like.

The sensor input may contain feedback from one or more sensorsincluding, but not limited to, one or more GPS sensors, one or moredistance sensors, one or more motion sensors, one or more movementsensors, one or more speed or velocity sensors, one or moreaccelerometer sensors, one or more eye tracking sensors, one or morebiometric/health sensors, one or more facial recognition sensors, one ormore camera sensors, and/or the like.

The biometric/health sensor input may be received from at least one of afitness tracker, a smart watch, a smart phone, an electroencephalography(“EEG” device, a virtual reality (“VR”) device, an augmented reality(“AR”) device, and/or the like. The feedback from the one or morebiometric/health sensors might include, but is not limited to, at leastone of a heart rate, a blood pressure, a stress level, a measure ofelectrical activity within a brain, pupil dilation, skin conductivity, alevel of activity, number of steps, and/or the like.

The method 1000, at block 1010, may further comprise analyzing, with thecomputing system, the at least one sensor input to determine at leastone first state of the user. The state of the user may correspond to atleast one of an emotion of a user, a feeling of a user, a location ofthe user, a physical position (e.g., a posture of a user, a bodyposition of a user, etc.) of a user, a level of activity of a user, adirection of an action of a user, an action (e.g., walking, running,biking, etc.) of a user, and/or the like.

In various embodiments, the method 1000, at block 1015, may additionallyinclude determining, with the computing system, a desired second stateof the user. The desired second state of a user may correspond to atleast one of an emotion of a user, a feeling of a user, a location ofthe user, a physical position (e.g., a posture of a user, a bodyposition of a user, etc.) of a user, a level of activity of a user, anaction (e.g., walking, running, biking, etc.) of a user, and/or thelike.

A user may manually enter a desired second state. Additionally and/oralternatively, the computing system may determine a desired secondstate. In a non-limiting example, the computing system, using the one ormore sensors, may detect that a user is feeling stressed or anxious.Based on the determination that a user is stressed or anxious, thecomputing system may determine that the desired second state is calm orrelaxed.

At block 1020, the method 1000 may determine whether the at least onefirst state of the user matches the desired second state of the user.Based on a determination that the at least one first state of the userdoes not match the desired second state of the user, the method 1000, atblock 1025 may continuously control, with the computing system, thegeneration of music having one or more characteristics to guide the userto the desired second state based on the at least at least one sensorinput. This process may continue as indicated by arrow 1030 until thecomputing system determines that the user has achieved the desiredsecond state.

The computing system may be configured to autonomously determine andcontinuously generate one or more characteristics of music to guide auser toward a desired second state based on the sensor feedback. Thegenerated music may be designed to gradually lead a user in astep-by-step process toward the desired second state. In other words,the generated music may continuously adapt and/or evolve based onfeedback received from the one or more sensors to lead a user toward adesired second state.

In order to guide the user toward a desired second state, the computingsystem may control, adapt, and/or evolve one or more characteristics ofmusic based on input from the one or more sensors. The one or morecharacteristics of music might, include, but are not limited to, a notepattern, a harmony, a tone, vocal-like qualities, elements of surprise,randomization, consistency, crescendo, decrescendo an orchestration, aspeed, a rhythm, a beat, or a volume. The one or more characteristics ofmusic might be associated with guiding a user toward a desired state. Ina non-limiting example, a beat or rhythm might be designed to help auser control his or her breathing. The one or more first characteristicsof a plurality of characteristics of music may further be associatedwith the at least one of the age, the sex or other demographic of auser.

The following examples represent ways the generated music may be used toguide a user from a first state to a desired second. These are examplesonly and they are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

In a first non-limiting example, the generated music may be designed toguide the user from a first stressful state to a second more relaxedstate based on the at least one sensor input. The computing system maydetermine that a user is stressed based on input from the sensor andgenerate music to soothe and relax the user. The music that is generatedmay be designed to gradually lead the user to a more relaxed state.Initially, the music may start out louder and faster and as thecomputing system determines that the user is calming down (based onsensor input) the music may become softer and slower until the desiredsecond state is reached. Once the desired second state is reached thecomputing system may generate music that is consistent with the desiredsecond state.

In a second non-limiting example, the generated music may be designed toguide the user from a first non-meditative state or stressed to a secondmeditative or relaxed state based on the at least one sensor input. Themusic that is generated may be designed to gradually lead the user to ameditative or relaxed state. Initially, the music may start out louderand brighter in timbre and as the computing system determines that theuser is entering a meditative or relaxed state (based on the sensorinput) the music may become darker in timbre and slower until thedesired second state is reached. Once the desired second state isreached the computing system may generate music that is consistent withthe meditative or relaxed state.

In a third non-limiting example, the generated music might be designedto guide the user from a first unfocused state to a second focused statebased on the at least one sensor input.

In a fourth non-limiting example, the generated music might be designedto guide the user from a first negative emotion to a second positiveemotion.

In a fifth non-limiting example, the generated music might be designedto guide the user through a periodic activity (e.g., a desired number ofsteps per minute, a desired number of repetitions per minute, and/or thelike) based on input from the one or more sensors. The music that isgenerated may be designed to gradually lead the user through theperiodic activity (e.g., toward a desired number of steps per minute,toward a desired number of repetitions per minute, and/or the like).Initially, the music may start out with a slower beat. Once thecomputing system determines that the user's periodic activity matchesthe slower beat (based on input from the sensor), the computing systemmight increase the beat until the user is at the desired periodicactivity. Once the desired periodic activity is reached the computingsystem may generate music that is consistent with maintaining thedesired periodic activity.

In a sixth non-limiting example, the generated music might be designedto sync to at least one of a running speed of the user, a heartbeat ofthe user, a breathing pattern of the user, a brainwave pattern of theuser, and/or the like based on input from the one or more sensors.

In a seventh non-limiting example, the generated music might be designedto guide the user to at least one of a slower breathing pattern, aslower heartbeat, a faster breathing pattern, a faster heartrate, and/orthe like based on input from the one or more sensors.

In an eighth non-limiting example, the generated music may be designedto lead a user through a workout routine. The music may start out slowand gradually speed up (based on input from the one or more sensors) tolead a user through a warm up routine. The computing system maydetermine, based on biometric/health feedback from the user, when theuser is ready to move on to the next stage of a workout routine andprovide cues to the user that it is time to move on through thegenerated music. Additionally and/or alternatively, a user may indicatethat he or she would like to exercise for an hour. The computing systemmay then lead a user through an hour exercise routine (warm up, cooldown, etc.) using the generated music and the input from the one or moresensors.

In a ninth non-limiting example, the generated music may be designed toguide the user from a first location to a second desired location. Thisfeature may be used by a user who is visually impaired to guide to adesired second location. For example, a user may indicate that he or shewould like to go to the kitchen. Using sensor input, the computingsystem may generate music to guide the user towards the kitchen. Themusic may become faster as the user gets closer to the kitchen or themusic may become slower as the user moves away from the kitchen. Thesensor input may be used to continuously update and control thegenerated music.

In a tenth non-limiting example, the generated music may be designed toguide the user to at least one of a better posture, a better bodyposition, and/or through a physical therapy routine. Sensor input may beused to provide information about a user's posture or body informationand different musical characteristics may be designed to guide the userto better posture, body position, or toward a correct position forphysical therapy.

In an eleventh non-limiting example, the generated music may be designedto alleviate pain and/or reflect a user's current state of pain. Sensorinput may be used to detect a user's current level of pain and differentmusical attributes may be used to guide a user to a less painful state,distract a user from a painful state, and/or provide a doctor withfeedback about a patient's current state of pain.

In a twelfth non-limiting example, the generated music might be designedto help a user win a race or determine where a user is within a race.Sensor input may be received from one or more passive sources e.g., twobiometric inputs, a biometric input and a camera, etc. The sensor inputmay be associated with two different users and/or participants in arace. The music that is generated may be used to reflect a user'sposition in a race. The music may speed up or slow down to reflect ifthe user is ahead or behind other participants in a race.

The examples above of guiding a user toward a desired second state areintended to be non-limiting. Generating music using sensors may be usedto guide users towards many other states than those listed above.

Exemplary System and Hardware Implementation

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary computer or systemhardware architecture, in accordance with various embodiments. FIG. 11provides a schematic illustration of one embodiment of a computer system1100 of the service provider system hardware that can perform themethods provided by various other embodiments, as described herein,and/or can perform the functions of computer or hardware system (i.e.,computing systems/user device 105, input devices 115, audio playbackdevices 120 a-120 n, music sources (or servers) 125, user interface 200,computing system 305, input devices 310, XY interface 900 d, etc.), asdescribed above. It should be noted that FIG. 11 is meant only toprovide a generalized illustration of various components, of which oneor more (or none) of each may be utilized as appropriate. FIG. 11,therefore, broadly illustrates how individual system elements may beimplemented in a relatively separated or relatively more integratedmanner.

The computer or hardware system 1100—which might represent an embodimentof the computer or hardware system (i.e., computing systems/user devices105, input devices 115, audio playback devices 120 a-120 n, musicsources (or servers) 125, user interface 200, computing system 305,input devices 310, XY interface 900 d, etc.), described above withrespect to FIGS. 1-10—is shown comprising hardware elements that can beelectrically coupled via a bus 1105 (or may otherwise be incommunication, as appropriate). The hardware elements may include one ormore processors 1110, including, without limitation, one or moregeneral-purpose processors and/or one or more special-purpose processors(such as microprocessors, digital signal processing chips, graphicsacceleration processors, and/or the like); one or more input devices1115 (i.e., input devices 115, input devices 310, etc.), which caninclude, without limitation, a mouse, a keyboard, fitness trackers,smart watches, EEG devices, and/or the like; and one or more outputdevices 1120, which can include, without limitation, a display device, aprinter, and/or the like.

The computer or hardware system 1100 may further include (and/or be incommunication with) one or more storage devices 1125, which cancomprise, without limitation, local and/or network accessible storage,and/or can include, without limitation, a disk drive, a drive array, anoptical storage device, solid-state storage device such as a randomaccess memory (“RAM”) and/or a read-only memory (“ROM”), which can beprogrammable, flash-updateable and/or the like. Such storage devices maybe configured to implement any appropriate data stores, including,without limitation, various file systems, database structures, musicalalgorithms associated with different emotions, and/or the like.

The computer or hardware system 1100 might also include a communicationssubsystem 1130, which can include, without limitation, a modem, anetwork card (wireless or wired), an infra-red communication device, awireless communication device and/or chipset (such as a Bluetooth™device, an 802.11 device, a WiFi device, a WiMax device, a WWAN device,cellular communication facilities, etc.), and/or the like. Thecommunications subsystem 1130 may permit data to be exchanged with anetwork (such as the network described below, to name one example), withother computer or hardware systems, and/or with any other devicesdescribed herein. In many embodiments, the computer or hardware system1100 will further comprise a working memory 1135, which can include aRAM or ROM device, as described above.

The computer or hardware system 1100 also may comprise softwareelements, shown as being currently located within the working memory1135, including an operating system 1140, device drivers, executablelibraries, and/or other code, such as one or more application programs1145, which may comprise computer programs provided by variousembodiments (including, without limitation, hypervisors, VMs, and thelike), and/or may be designed to implement methods, and/or configuresystems, provided by other embodiments, as described herein. Merely byway of example, one or more procedures described with respect to themethod(s) discussed above might be implemented as code and/orinstructions executable by a computer (and/or a processor within acomputer); in an aspect, then, such code and/or instructions can be usedto configure and/or adapt a general purpose computer (or other device)to perform one or more operations in accordance with the describedmethods.

A set of these instructions and/or code might be encoded and/or storedon a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, such as thestorage device(s) 1125 described above. In some cases, the storagemedium might be incorporated within a computer system, such as thesystem 1100. In other embodiments, the storage medium might be separatefrom a computer system (i.e., a removable medium, such as a compactdisc, etc.), and/or provided in an installation package, such that thestorage medium can be used to program, configure and/or adapt a generalpurpose computer with the instructions/code stored thereon. Theseinstructions might take the form of executable code, which is executableby the computer or hardware system 1100 and/or might take the form ofsource and/or installable code, which, upon compilation and/orinstallation on the computer or hardware system 1100 (e.g., using any ofa variety of generally available compilers, installation programs,compression/decompression utilities, etc.) then takes the form ofexecutable code.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that substantialvariations may be made in accordance with specific requirements. Forexample, customized hardware (such as programmable logic controllers,field-programmable gate arrays, application-specific integratedcircuits, and/or the like) might also be used, and/or particularelements might be implemented in hardware, software (including portablesoftware, such as applets, etc.), or both. Further, connection to othercomputing devices such as network input/output devices may be employed.

As mentioned above, in one aspect, some embodiments may employ acomputer or hardware system (such as the computer or hardware system1100) to perform methods in accordance with various embodiments of theinvention. According to a set of embodiments, some or all of theprocedures of such methods are performed by the computer or hardwaresystem 1100 in response to processor 1110 executing one or moresequences of one or more instructions (which might be incorporated intothe operating system 1140 and/or other code, such as an applicationprogram 1145) contained in the working memory 1135. Such instructionsmay be read into the working memory 1135 from another computer readablemedium, such as one or more of the storage device(s) 1125. Merely by wayof example, execution of the sequences of instructions contained in theworking memory 1135 might cause the processor(s) 1110 to perform one ormore procedures of the methods described herein.

The terms “machine readable medium” and “computer readable medium,” asused herein, refer to any medium that participates in providing datathat causes a machine to operate in a specific fashion. In an embodimentimplemented using the computer or hardware system 1100, various computerreadable media might be involved in providing instructions/code toprocessor(s) 1110 for execution and/or might be used to store and/orcarry such instructions/code (e.g., as signals). In manyimplementations, a computer readable medium is a non-transitory,physical, and/or tangible storage medium. In some embodiments, acomputer readable medium may take many forms, including, but not limitedto, non-volatile media, volatile media, or the like. Non-volatile mediaincludes, for example, optical and/or magnetic disks, such as thestorage device(s) 1125. Volatile media includes, without limitation,dynamic memory, such as the working memory 1135. In some alternativeembodiments, a computer readable medium may take the form oftransmission media, which includes, without limitation, coaxial cables,copper wire and fiber optics, including the wires that comprise the bus1105, as well as the various components of the communication subsystem1130 (and/or the media by which the communications subsystem 1130provides communication with other devices). In an alternative set ofembodiments, transmission media can also take the form of waves(including without limitation radio, acoustic and/or light waves, suchas those generated during radio-wave and infra-red data communications).

Common forms of physical and/or tangible computer readable mediainclude, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, a hard disk,magnetic tape, or any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, any other opticalmedium, punch cards, paper tape, any other physical medium with patternsof holes, a RAM, a PROM, and EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chipor cartridge, a carrier wave as described hereinafter, or any othermedium from which a computer can read instructions and/or code.

Various forms of computer readable media may be involved in carrying oneor more sequences of one or more instructions to the processor(s) 1110for execution. Merely by way of example, the instructions may initiallybe carried on a magnetic disk and/or optical disc of a remote computer.A remote computer might load the instructions into its dynamic memoryand send the instructions as signals over a transmission medium to bereceived and/or executed by the computer or hardware system 1100. Thesesignals, which might be in the form of electromagnetic signals, acousticsignals, optical signals, and/or the like, are all examples of carrierwaves on which instructions can be encoded, in accordance with variousembodiments of the invention.

The communications subsystem 1130 (and/or components thereof) generallywill receive the signals, and the bus 1105 then might carry the signals(and/or the data, instructions, etc. carried by the signals) to theworking memory 1135, from which the processor(s) 1105 retrieves andexecutes the instructions. The instructions received by the workingmemory 1135 may optionally be stored on a storage device 1125 eitherbefore or after execution by the processor(s) 1110.

Additionally and/or alternatively, system 1100 may utilize neuralnetworks (e.g., convolutional, recurrent, spiking, or other statisticallearning mode) to classify an emotional state, determine emotion statefrom incoming sensor data, control position in the user interface, etc.

As noted above, a set of embodiments comprises methods, systems, andapparatuses for generating music, and, more particularly, to methods,systems, and apparatuses for generating music associated with a state oran emotion contained within a communication, for a user interface forgenerating music associated with a state or an emotion, and forgenerating music to guide a user toward a desired state or goal. FIG. 12illustrates a schematic diagram of a system 1200 that can be used inaccordance with one set of embodiments. The system 1200 can include oneor more user computers, user devices, or customer devices 1205 (similarto computing systems/user devices 105, input devices 115, etc.). A usercomputer, user device, or customer device 1205 can be a general purposepersonal computer (including, merely by way of example, desktopcomputers, tablet computers, laptop computers, handheld computers, andthe like, running any appropriate operating system, several of which areavailable from vendors such as Apple, Microsoft Corp., and the like),cloud computing devices, a server(s), and/or a workstation computer(s)running any of a variety of commercially-available UNIX™ or UNIX-likeoperating systems. A user computer, user device, or customer device 1205can also have any of a variety of applications, including one or moreapplications configured to perform methods provided by variousembodiments (as described above, for example), as well as one or moreoffice applications, database client and/or server applications, and/orweb browser applications. Alternatively, a user computer, user device,or customer device 1205 can be any other electronic device, such as athin-client computer, Internet-enabled mobile telephone, and/or personaldigital assistant, capable of communicating via a network (e.g., thenetwork(s) 1210 described below) and/or of displaying and navigating webpages or other types of electronic documents. Although the exemplarysystem 1200 is shown with three user computers, user devices, orcustomer devices 1205, any number of user computers, user devices, orcustomer devices can be supported.

Certain embodiments operate in a networked environment, which caninclude a network(s) 1210. The network(s) 1210 can be any type ofnetwork familiar to those skilled in the art that can support datacommunications using any of a variety of commercially-available (and/orfree or proprietary) protocols, including, without limitation, TCP/IP,SNA™, IPX™, AppleTalk™, and the like. Merely by way of example, thenetwork(s) 1210 (similar to network(s) 140 FIG. 1, or the like) can eachinclude a local area network (“LAN”), including, without limitation, afiber network, an Ethernet network, a Token-Ring™ network and/or thelike; a wide-area network (“WAN”); a wireless wide area network(“WWAN”); a virtual network, such as a virtual private network (“VPN”);the Internet; an intranet; an extranet; a public switched telephonenetwork (“PSTN”); an infra-red network; a wireless network, including,without limitation, a network operating under any of the IEEE 702.11suite of protocols, the Bluetooth™ protocol known in the art, and/or anyother wireless protocol; and/or any combination of these and/or othernetworks. In a particular embodiment, the network might include anaccess network of the service provider (e.g., an Internet serviceprovider (“ISP”)). In another embodiment, the network might include acore network of the service provider, and/or the Internet.

Embodiments can also include one or more server computers 1215. Each ofthe server computers 1215 may be configured with an operating system,including, without limitation, any of those discussed above, as well asany commercially (or freely) available server operating systems. Each ofthe servers 1215 may also be running one or more applications, which canbe configured to provide services to one or more clients 1205 and/orother servers 1215.

Merely by way of example, one of the servers 1215 might be a dataserver, a web server, a cloud computing device(s), or the like, asdescribed above. The data server might include (or be in communicationwith) a web server, which can be used, merely by way of example, toprocess requests for web pages or other electronic documents from usercomputers 1205. The web server can also run a variety of serverapplications, including HTTP servers, FTP servers, CGI servers, databaseservers, Java servers, and the like. In some embodiments of theinvention, the web server may be configured to serve web pages that canbe operated within a web browser on one or more of the user computers1205 to perform methods of the invention. A user interface (similar touser interface 200) may be featured on a webpage hosted by one of theservers 1215.

The server computers 1215, in some embodiments, might include one ormore application servers, which can be configured with one or moreapplications accessible by a client running on one or more of the clientcomputers 1205 and/or other servers 1215. In a non-limiting example, auser interface (similar to user interface 200) may be run as anapplication by a client running on one or more of the client computers1205 and/or other servers 1215. Merely by way of example, the server(s)1215 can be one or more general purpose computers capable of executingprograms or scripts in response to the user computers 1205 and/or otherservers 1215, including, without limitation, web applications (whichmight, in some cases, be configured to perform methods provided byvarious embodiments). Merely by way of example, a web application can beimplemented as one or more scripts or programs written in any suitableprogramming language, such as Java™, C, C #™ or C++, and/or anyscripting language, such as Perl, Python, or TCL, as well ascombinations of any programming and/or scripting languages. Theapplication server(s) can also include database servers, including,without limitation, those commercially available from Oracle™,Microsoft™, Sybase™, IBM™, and the like, which can process requests fromclients (including, depending on the configuration, dedicated databaseclients, API clients, web browsers, etc.) running on a user computer,user device, or customer device 1205 and/or another server 1215. In someembodiments, an application server can perform one or more of theprocesses for generating music, and, more particularly, for generatingmusic associated with a state or an emotion contained within acommunication and for a user interface for generating music associatedwith a state or an emotion. Data provided by an application server maybe formatted as one or more web pages (comprising HTML, JavaScript,etc., for example) and/or may be forwarded to a user computer 1205 via aweb server (as described above, for example). Similarly, a web servermight receive web page requests and/or input data from a user computer1205 and/or forward the web page requests and/or input data to anapplication server. In some cases, a web server may be integrated withan application server.

Additionally and/or alternatively, user computer 1205 may utilize neuralnetworks (e.g., convolutional, recurrent, spiking, or other statisticallearning mode) to classify a state or an emotional state, determine astate or an emotional state from incoming sensor data, control positionin the user interface, etc.

In accordance with further embodiments, one or more servers 1215 canfunction as a file server and/or can include one or more of the files(e.g., application code, data files, etc.) necessary to implementvarious disclosed methods, incorporated by an application running on auser computer 1205 and/or another server 1215. Alternatively, as thoseskilled in the art will appreciate, a file server can include allnecessary files, allowing such an application to be invoked remotely bya user computer, user device, or customer device 1205 and/or server1215.

It should be noted that the functions described with respect to variousservers herein (e.g., application server, database server, web server,file server, etc.) can be performed by a single server and/or aplurality of specialized servers, depending on implementation-specificneeds and parameters.

In certain embodiments, the system can include one or more databases1220 a-1220 n (collectively, “databases 1220”). The location of each ofthe databases 1220 is discretionary: merely by way of example, adatabase 1220 a might reside on a storage medium local to (and/orresident in) a server 1215 a (and/or a user computer, user device, orcustomer device 1205). Alternatively, a database 1220 n can be remotefrom any or all of the computers 1205, 1215, so long as it can be incommunication (e.g., via the network 1210) with one or more of these. Ina particular set of embodiments, a database 1220 can reside in astorage-area network (“SAN”) familiar to those skilled in the art.(Likewise, any necessary files for performing the functions attributedto the computers 1205, 1215 can be stored locally on the respectivecomputer and/or remotely, as appropriate.) In one set of embodiments,the database 1220 can be a relational database, such as an Oracledatabase, that is adapted to store, update, and retrieve data inresponse to SQL-formatted commands. The database might be controlledand/or maintained by a database server, as described above, for example.

According to some embodiments, system 1200 might further comprise one ormore input devices 1230 (similar to input devices 115 of FIG. 1, or thelike), one or more audio playback devices 1240 a-1240 n (similar toaudio playback devices 120 a-120 n of FIG. 1, or the like), one or moremusic (e.g., video) content sources 1245 (similar to music sources (orservers) 125, or the like) and corresponding database(s) 1250 (similardatabases 130 of FIG. 1, or the like), and/or the like. In someembodiments, the computing system 1205 might be communicatively coupledto one or more input device, one or more a playback device(s), or thelike (i.e., one or more of input devices 115 or 1030 and/or audioplayback device(s) 120 a-120 n or 1240 a-1240 n, or the like). In somecases, the input device might comprise one of a fitness tracker, EEGdevice, smart watch, and/or the like.

These and other functions of the system 1200 (and its components) aredescribed in greater detail above with respect to FIGS. 1-11.

In one aspect, a method for creating generative music might becharacterized by the following numbered paragraphs:

1. A method, comprising: analyzing, with a computing system, acommunication to determine at least one state contained within thecommunication; autonomously determining, with the computing system, oneor more first characteristics of a plurality of characteristics of musicassociated with the determined at least one state contained within thecommunication; and based on the determination of the one or more firstcharacteristics of a plurality of characteristics of music associatedwith the at least one state contained within the communication,autonomously generating, with the computing system, music having the oneor more first characteristics of the plurality of characteristicsassociated with the at least one determined state contained within thecommunication.

2. The method of paragraph 1, wherein the computing system comprises atleast one of a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet, anembedded processing unit, or a smart phone.

3. The method of paragraph 1, wherein the one or more firstcharacteristics of the plurality of characteristics of music include atleast one of a pitch, note pattern, note envelope or shape, a controlsignal, a harmony, a grouping, vocal-like filtering and inflections,elements of surprise, randomization, consistency, crescendo, decrescendoan orchestration, a rate, a tempo, a rhythm, a timbre or an amplitudeassociated with the first state indicated by the communication.

4. The method of paragraph 1, wherein the music that is generated isgenerated in real-time based on feedback from the communication.

5. The method of paragraph 1, wherein the at least one state includes atleast one of a first state associated with a person, a second stateassociated with an environment, a third state associated with a userinterface involving at least one of an interactive touch screen, phone,tablet, digital book, a video game, or a virtual reality or augmentedreality system.

6. The method of paragraph 5, wherein the first state associated withthe person includes at least one of a physical state of a person, amental state of a person, an emotion, a feeling, a bio-metric, alocation, an activity, a rate of activity, a level of activity or anaction of a user, wherein the second state associated with theenvironment includes at least one of a weather situation, a temperature,an amount of humidity, an amount of light, a time of day, or a time ofyear, wherein the third state associated with the state determined by atext, image, video, video or audio game, or virtual, augmented or mixedreality technology includes at least one of a sixth state associatedwith the state of one or more characters, scenes, or quantifiableattribute.

7. The method of paragraph 1, wherein the communication comprises atleast one of a sensor communication, an Internet of Things (“IoT”)communication, a biometric communication, a voice communication, atextual communication, a photographic communication, or a videocommunication.

8. The method of paragraph 7, wherein the senor communication isreceived from one or more sensors including at least one of one or moreGPS sensors, one or more distance sensors, one or more motion sensors,one or more movement sensors, one or more speed or velocity sensors, oneor more accelerometer sensors, one or more gyroscope sensors, one ormore biometric/health sensors, one or more facial recognition sensors,one or more cameras, one or more weather sensors, one or moretemperature sensors, one or more ambient light sensors, one or morehumidity sensors, one or more touch sensors, one or more movementsensors, one or more rotation sensors, or one or more microphones oraudio sensors, and wherein the at least one state is determined based onfeedback from the one or more sensors.

9. The method of paragraph 7, wherein the IoT communication is receivedfrom one or more devices comprising at least one of a smart home device,one or more thermometers in one or more rooms, one or more infrared(“IR”) thermometers aimed at one or more positions in the one or morerooms, one or more air flow sensors in the one or more rooms, one ormore air flow sensors in air ducts directed toward the one or morerooms, one or more indoor solar light sensors, one or more outdoor solarlight sensors, one or more outdoor wind sensors, one or moreneighborhood weather station sensors, one or more regional weatherstation sensors, one or more motion detectors detecting presence ofpeople or animals in at least one of the one or more rooms or outsidethe customer premises, one or more humidity sensors in the one or morerooms, one or more smoke detectors detecting smoke in the one or morerooms, one or more gas detection sensors detecting gas in the one ormore rooms, one or more biometric sensors identifying at least oneperson, or one or more health sensors detecting health information forat least one person, and wherein the at least one state is determinedbased on feedback from the one or more devices.

10. The method of paragraph 7, wherein the biometric communication isreceived from at least one of a fitness tracker or anelectroencephalography (“EEG”) device and wherein the computing systemdetermines the at least one state based on feedback from the at leastone of the fitness tracker or the EEG device.

11. The method of paragraph 7, wherein the computing system determinesthe at least one state by at least one of parsing the voicecommunication of at least one person or determining a tone of voice ofthe voice communication of the at least one person.

12. The method of paragraph 7, wherein the computing system determinesthe at least one state by parsing the textual communication or detectingat least one emoji used in the textual communication.

13. The method of paragraph 7, wherein the computing system determinesthe at least one state by determining a displayed state of at least oneperson in the photographic communication.

14. The method of paragraph 7, wherein the computing system determinesthe at least one state by at least one of determining a displayed stateof at least one person in the video communication, analyzing bodylanguage of the at least one person in the video communication, parsingdialogue of the at least one person in the video, or determining a toneof voice of the at least one person in the video.

15. The method of paragraph 1, wherein the communication is furtherindicative of at least one of an age, a sex or location of a person,wherein the one or more first characteristics of a plurality ofcharacteristics of music are further associated with the at least one ofthe age or the sex or the location indicated by the communication, andwherein the music that is generated further has the one or more firstcharacteristics of the plurality of characteristics associated with theat least one of the age or the sex indicated by the communication.

16. The method of paragraph 1, wherein the music that is generatedcontains human-like embellishments.

17. The method of paragraph 16, wherein the human-like embellishmentsare created from at least one of timing jitter, frequency jitter, ortimbral jitter.

18. The method of paragraph 1, further comprising: mapping, with thecomputing system, a plurality of states to a circular pattern, whereinat least one of a position of a state of the plurality of states on acircumference of the circular pattern or an angle of the state on thecircular pattern corresponds to a first subset of characteristics ofmusic associated with the state, and wherein a distance of the statefrom a center of the circular pattern corresponds to a second subset ofcharacteristics of music associated with the state; determining, withthe computing system, the position on the circumference of the circularpattern of at least one state contained within the communication or theangle of the at least one state contained within the communication andthe distance of state contained within the communication from the centerof the circular pattern; and based on the determination of the positionor angle and the distance of the at least one state contained within thecommunication, autonomously generating, with the computing system, musichaving the first subset of particular characteristics and the secondsubset of particular characteristics associated with the determined atleast one state contained within the communication.

19. The method of paragraph 1, further comprising: mapping, with thecomputing system, a plurality of states to a plurality of positions on atwo-dimensional graph, wherein at least one of a first distance of aposition from a first axis corresponds to an input mapped to a firstsubset of characteristics of music, and wherein a second distance of theposition from a second axis corresponds to an input controlling a secondsubset of characteristics of music; determining, with the computingsystem, a state position associated with the determined at least onestate contained within the communication and having a first particulardistance from the first axis and a second particular distance from thesecond axis; based on the determination of the state position having thefirst particular distance from the first axis and a second particulardistance from the second axis, autonomously generating, with thecomputing system, music having the first subset of characteristics andthe second subset of characteristics corresponding to the state positionassociated with the at least one state contained within thecommunication.

In another aspect, a method for generating music might be characterizedby the following sample numbered paragraphs:

20. A method for generating music, said method comprising: generating,with a computing system, a circular pattern having a plurality ofdifferent states mapped to different regions on the circular pattern,wherein at least one of a position of a region on a circumference of thecircular pattern or an angle of the region on the circular patterncorresponds to a first subset of characteristics of a plurality ofcharacteristics of music, and wherein a distance of the region from acenter of the circular pattern corresponds to a second subset ofcharacteristics of the plurality of characteristics of music; analyzing,with a computing system, a communication to determine at least one statecontained within the communication; autonomously determining, with thecomputing system, the position of at least one particular regioncorresponding to the at least one particular state on the circumferenceof the circular pattern or the angle of the region on the circularpattern corresponding to the at least one particular state and thedistance of the at least one particular region corresponding to the atleast one particular emotion from the center of the circular pattern;based on the determination of the position of the determined at leastone particular region on the circumference of the circular pattern orthe angle of the determined at least one particular region and thedistance of the determined at least one particular region from thecenter of the circular pattern, autonomously generating, with thecomputing system, music having the first subset of characteristics andthe second subset of characteristics associated with the at least onestate contained within the communication.

21. The method of paragraph 20, wherein the computing system comprisesat least one of a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet,embedded processing unit or a cellular phone.

22. The method of paragraph 20, wherein the different regions arerepresented by icons, and wherein the icons are at least one of atextual icon representing the at least one emotion or an emojirepresenting the at least one of the emotion.

23. The method of paragraph 20, wherein the first subset ofcharacteristics includes at least one of a pitch, a note envelope, anote pattern, a filter, a harmony, a tone, a density, vocal-likequality, a grouping, an orchestration, a timbre, a rate, a tempo, or anamplitude associated with the first state indicated by the usercommunication.

24. The method of paragraph 20, wherein the second subset ofcharacteristics includes at least one of a pitch, a note pattern, afilter, a harmony, a tone, a density, vocal-like quality, anorchestration, a speed, a timbre, or an amplitude associated with thefirst state indicated by the user communication.

25. The method of paragraph 20, further comprising: autonomouslydetermining, with the computing system, whether at least two states arecontained within the communication; based on a determination that atleast two states are contained within the communication, simultaneouslygenerating, playing, and harmonizing music having the particular firstsubset of characteristics and the particular second set ofcharacteristics associated with each of the at least two statescontained within the communication.

26. The method of paragraph 20, further comprising: autonomouslydetermining, with the computing system, whether at least two states arecontained within the communication; based on a determination that morethan one states is contained within the communication, determining anorder to generate and play music associated with each of the at leasttwo states; transitioning, with the computing system, between generatingand playing music associated with each of the at least two states.

27. The method of paragraph 26, wherein transitioning between playingmusic associated with each of the at least two states contained withinthe communication further comprises: autonomously determining, with thecomputing system, the position or angle of the at least two particularregions corresponding to the at least two particular states on thecircumference of the circular pattern and the distance of two particularregions corresponding to the particular states from the center of thecircular pattern; autonomously determining, with the computing system,regions corresponding to additional states between the at least twoparticular regions corresponding to the at least two particular states;transitioning, with the computing system, between playing musicassociated with each of the at least two states contained within thecommunication by playing music associated with the determined additionalstates between music associated with the at least two particular regionscorresponding to the at least two particular states.

28. The method of paragraph 20, wherein the user communication comprisesat least one of a tactile communication, a sensor communication, anInternet of Things “IoT” communication, a biometric communication, avoice communication, a textual communication, a picture communication,or a video communication.

29. The method of paragraph 28, further comprising: displaying thecircular pattern having the plurality of different states represented byregions to a user on a user interface, wherein the tactile communicationis received from the user selecting at least one regions associated withat least one particular state on the circular pattern displayed on theuser interface.

30. The method of paragraph 28, further comprising: displaying thecircular pattern having the plurality of different states represented byregions to a user on a user interface, wherein the tactile communicationincludes the user selecting at least two regions.

31. The method of paragraph 30, further comprising: tracking, with thecomputing system, the tactile communication of a user; determining, withthe computing system, whether at least one region has been selected;based on a determination that at least two regions have been selected,determining, with the computing system, whether the tactile input, whenselecting the at least two regions, was continuous input; based on adetermination that the tactile input was not continuous, pausing, withthe computing system, the generated music between each user selection ofa region; based on a determination that the tactile input wascontinuous, smoothly transitioning between playing music associated witheach of the at least two states selected by the tactile input.

32. The method of paragraph 31, wherein smoothly transitioning betweenplaying music, further comprises: creating, with the computing system, atime lag between the selection of each region and the generation ofmusic associated with each region. 33. The method of paragraph 32,wherein in the time lag further comprises playing the generated musicfor each selected region for a predetermined amount of time beforetransitioning to a subsequent selected region.

34. The method of paragraph 28, wherein the biometric communication isreceived from at least one of a fitness tracker or anelectroencephalography (“EEG”) device and wherein the computing systemdetermines the first state of the user based on feedback from the atleast one of the fitness tracker or the EEG device.

35. The method of paragraph 28, wherein the computing system determinesthe first state of the user by at least one of parsing the voicecommunication of the user or determining a tone of the voicecommunication of the user.

36. The method of paragraph 28, wherein the computing system determinesthe first state of the user by parsing the textual communication of theuser.

37. The method of paragraph 28, wherein the computing system determinesthe first state of the user by determining a displayed state of a personin the picture communication.

38. The method of paragraph 28, wherein the computing system determinesthe first state of the user by at least one of determining a displayedstate of a person in the video communication, parsing dialogue of theperson in the video, or determining a tone of voice of the person in thevideo.

39. The method of paragraph 20, wherein the user communication isfurther indicative of at least one of a demographic such as age, sex orlocation of a user, wherein the intensity or character of the music isfurther associated with the at least one of the demographics indicatedby the user communication, and wherein the music that is generatedfurther has the intensity associated with the at least one of thedemographics indicated by the user.

40. The method of paragraph 20, wherein the music that is generatedcontains variation and human-like embellishments.

41. The method of paragraph 20, wherein the human-like embellishmentsare created from at least one of timing jitter, frequency jitter, ortimbre jitter, wherein a random signal may influence parameter values.

42. The method of paragraph 20, further comprising: receiving, with thecomputing system, at least one additional user communication from auser, the at least one additional user communication being indicative ofat least one additional state; determining, with the computing system, anumber of user communications over a specified period of time;determining, with the computing system, whether the number of usercommunications exceeds a predetermined threshold; based on adetermination that the number of user communications does not exceed thepredetermined threshold, autonomously determining, with the computingsystem, one or more first characteristics of a plurality ofcharacteristics of music associated with the second state indicated bythe second user communication, and autonomously transitioning fromgenerating music having the one or more first characteristics of theplurality of characteristics associated with the first state indicatedby the user to generating music having the one or more firstcharacteristics of the plurality of characteristics associated with thesecond state indicated by the user; and based on a determination thatthe number of user communications does exceed the predeterminedthreshold, pausing, with the computing system, the music beinggenerated.

In yet another aspect, a method for generating music might becharacterized by the following sample numbered paragraphs:

43. A method for generating music, said method comprising: generating,with a computing system, a two-dimensional graph having a plurality ofdifferent states mapped to different regions on the two-dimensionalgraph, wherein at least one of a first distance of a region from a firstaxis on the two-dimensional graph corresponds to an input mapped to afirst subset of characteristics of a plurality of characteristics ofmusic, and wherein a second distance of the region from a second of thetwo-dimensional graph corresponds to an input mapped to second subset ofcharacteristics of the plurality of characteristics of music; analyzing,with a computing system, a communication to determine at least one statecontained within the communication; autonomously determining, with thecomputing system, a position of at least one particular regioncorresponding to the at least one state contained within thecommunication and having a first particular distance from the first axisand a second particular distance from the second axis; based on thedetermination of the position of the determined at least one particularregion corresponding to the at least one state contained within thecommunication, autonomously generating, with the computing system, musichaving the first subset of characteristics and the second subset ofcharacteristics associated with the position of the at least one statecontained within the communication.

In a further aspect, a method for generating music might becharacterized by the following sample numbered paragraphs:

44. A method for generating new music, the method comprising: defining,with a computing system, a predetermined set of notes; defining, withthe computing system, at least one of a frequency, note pattern, a noteenvelope, a note range, a melody, a harmony, a probability of a noteevent, a tone, an orchestration, a timbre, a rate, a tempo, a rhythmicstructure, a density, a grouping of audio components, a filter, amusical gesture, or an amplitude associated with a particular state;generating, with the computing system, music associated with the atleast one of a note pattern, a note range, a harmony, a tone, aorchestration, a timbre, a speed, a rhythmic structure, a grouping, agesture or the amplitude associated with the particular state; andadding, with the computing system, human-like embellishments to thegenerated music.

In another aspect, an apparatus for generating music might becharacterized by the following sample numbered paragraphs:

45. An apparatus, comprising: at least one processor; and anon-transitory computer readable medium communicatively coupled to theat least one processor, the non-transitory computer readable mediumhaving stored thereon computer software comprising a set of instructionsthat, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the apparatusto: analyze a communication to determine at least one emotion or statecontained within the communication; autonomously determine one or morefirst characteristics of a plurality of characteristics of musicassociated with the determined at least one emotion or state containedwithin the communication; and based on the determination of the one ormore first characteristics of a plurality of characteristics of musicassociated with the at least one emotion or state contained within thecommunication, autonomously generate music having the one or more firstcharacteristics of the plurality of characteristics associated with theat least one determined emotion or state contained within thecommunication.

In an additional aspect, a system for generating music might becharacterized by the following sample numbered paragraphs:

46. A system, comprising: a computing system, comprising: at least onefirst processor; and a first non-transitory computer readable mediumcommunicatively coupled to the at least one first processor, the firstnon-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon computersoftware comprising a first set of instructions that, when executed bythe at least one first processor causes the computing system to: analyzea communication to determine at least one emotion or state containedwithin the communication; autonomously determine one or more firstcharacteristics of a plurality of characteristics of music associatedwith the determined at least one emotion or state contained within thecommunication; and based on the determination of the one or more firstcharacteristics of a plurality of characteristics of music associatedwith the at least one emotion or state contained within thecommunication, autonomously generate music having the one or more firstcharacteristics of the plurality of characteristics associated with theat least one determined emotion or state contained within thecommunication.

In another aspect, an apparatus for generating music might becharacterized by the following sample numbered paragraphs:

47. An apparatus, comprising: at least one processor; and anon-transitory computer readable medium communicatively coupled to theat least one processor, the non-transitory computer readable mediumhaving stored thereon computer software comprising a set of instructionsthat, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the apparatusto: generate a circular pattern having a plurality of different emotionsor states represented by icons, wherein at least one of a position on acircumference of the circular pattern or an angle of the circularpattern corresponds to a first subset of characteristics of a pluralityof characteristics of music associated with a particular emotion orstates represented by a particular icon, and wherein a distance from acenter of the circular pattern corresponds to a second subset ofcharacteristics of the plurality of characteristics of music associatedwith a particular emotion or states represented by a particular icon;analyze a communication to determine at least one emotion or statecontained within the communication; autonomously determine the positionof at least one particular icon corresponding to the at least oneparticular emotion or state on the circumference of the circular patternand the distance of the at least one particular icon corresponding tothe at least one particular emotion or state from the center of thecircular pattern; and based on the determination of the position of thedetermined at least one particular icon on the circumference of thecircular pattern or the angle of the determined at least one particularicon and the distance of the determined at least one particular iconfrom the center of the circular pattern, autonomously generate musichaving the first subset of characteristics and the second subset ofcharacteristics associated with the at least one emotion or statecontained within the communication.

In an additional aspect, a system for generating music might becharacterized by the following sample numbered paragraphs:

48. A system, comprising: a computing system, comprising: at least onefirst processor; and a first non-transitory computer readable mediumcommunicatively coupled to the at least one first processor, the firstnon-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon computersoftware comprising a first set of instructions that, when executed bythe at least one first processor causes the computing system to:generate a circular pattern having a plurality of different emotions orstates represented by icons, wherein at least one of a position on acircumference of the circular pattern or an angle of the circularpattern corresponds to a first subset of characteristics of a pluralityof characteristics of music associated with a particular emotion orstates represented by a particular icon, and wherein a distance from acenter of the circular pattern corresponds to a second subset ofcharacteristics of the plurality of characteristics of music associatedwith a particular emotion or states represented by a particular icon;analyze a communication to determine at least one emotion or statecontained within the communication; autonomously determine the positionof at least one particular icon corresponding to the at least oneparticular emotion or state on the circumference of the circular patternand the distance of the at least one particular icon corresponding tothe at least one particular emotion or state from the center of thecircular pattern; and based on the determination of the position of thedetermined at least one particular icon on the circumference of thecircular pattern or the angle of the determined at least one particularicon and the distance of the determined at least one particular iconfrom the center of the circular pattern, autonomously generate musichaving the first subset of characteristics and the second subset ofcharacteristics associated with the at least one emotion or statecontained within the communication.

In another aspect, an apparatus for generating music might becharacterized by the following sample numbered paragraphs:

49. An apparatus, comprising: at least one processor; and anon-transitory computer readable medium communicatively coupled to theat least one processor, the non-transitory computer readable mediumhaving stored thereon computer software comprising a set of instructionsthat, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the apparatusto: define a predetermined set of notes; define at least one of a notepattern, a note range, a harmony, a tone, a pitch, an envelope, aprobability of a note event, an orchestration, a speed, a rate, atimbre, a density, a filter, a contour, a gesture, a density, a groupingof audio components, a group, or an amplitude of an audio featureassociated with a particular emotion or state; generate music associatedwith the at least one of the note pattern, the note range, the harmony,the tone, the orchestration, the speed, a rate, a timbre, a contour, agesture or an amplitude associated with the particular emotion or state;and add human-like variations to the generated music.

In an additional aspect, a system for generating music might becharacterized by the following sample numbered paragraphs:

50. A system, comprising: a computing system, comprising: at least onefirst processor; and a first non-transitory computer readable mediumcommunicatively coupled to the at least one first processor, the firstnon-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon computersoftware comprising a first set of instructions that, when executed bythe at least one first processor causes the computing system to: definea predetermined set of notes; define at least one of a note pattern, anote range, a harmony, a tone, a pitch, an envelope, a probability of anote event, an orchestration, a speed, a rate, a timbre, a density, afilter, a contour, a gesture, a density, a grouping of audio components,a group, or an amplitude of an audio feature associated with aparticular emotion or state; generate music associated with the at leastone of the note pattern, the note range, the harmony, the tone, theorchestration, the speed, a rate, a timbre, a contour, a gesture or anamplitude associated with the particular emotion or state; and addhuman-like variations to the generated music.

In a further aspect, a method might be characterized by the followingsample numbered paragraphs:

51. A method for generating music, said method comprising: generating,with a computing system, a circular pattern having a plurality ofdifferent emotions or states represented by icons, wherein at least oneof a position of a particular icon on the circular pattern correspondsto a set of characteristics of a plurality of characteristics of musicassociated with a particular emotion or state represented by theparticular icon or position; analyzing, with the computing system, acommunication to determine at least one emotion or state containedwithin the communication; autonomously determining, with the computingsystem, the position of at least one icon or position corresponding tothe determined at least one emotion or state contained within thecommunication on the circular pattern; based on the determination of theposition of the determined at least one particular icon on the circularpattern, autonomously generating, with the computing system, musichaving the set characteristics associated with the determined at leastone emotion or state contained within the communication.

52. The method of paragraph 51, further comprising: autonomouslydetermining, with the computing system, whether at least two emotions orstates are contained within the communication; based on a determinationthat at least two emotions are contained within the communication,simultaneously generating, playing, and harmonizing music having the setof characteristics associated with each of the at least two emotions orstates contained within the communication.

53. The method of paragraph 51, further comprising: autonomouslydetermining, with the computing system, whether at least two emotions orstates are contained within the communication; based on a determinationthat more than one emotion or state is contained within thecommunication, determining an order to generate and play musicassociated with each of the at least two emotions or states;transitioning, with the computing system, between generating and playingmusic associated with each of the at least two emotions or states.

54. The method of paragraph 53, wherein transitioning between playingmusic associated with each of the at least two emotions or states arecontained within the communication further comprises: autonomouslydetermining, with the computing system, the position of the at least twoparticular icons or positions corresponding to the at least twoparticular emotions or states on the circular pattern; autonomouslydetermining, with the computing system, icons corresponding toadditional emotions or states between the at least two particular iconscorresponding to the at least two particular emotions or states;transitioning, with the computing system, between playing musicassociated with each of the at least two emotions or states containedwithin the communication by playing music associated with the determinedadditional emotions or states between music associated with the at leasttwo particular icons corresponding to the at least two particularemotions or states.

In an aspect, a method might be characterized by the following samplenumbered paragraphs:

55. A method for generating music, said method comprising: generating,with a computing system, a pattern having a plurality of differentconcepts represented by icons, wherein at least one of a position of aparticular icon on the pattern corresponds to a set of characteristicsof a plurality of characteristics of music associated with a particularconcept represented by the particular icon; analyzing, with thecomputing system, a communication to determine at least one conceptcontained within the communication; autonomously determining, with thecomputing system, the position of at least one icon corresponding to thedetermined at least one concept contained within the communication onthe pattern; based on the determination of the position of thedetermined at least one particular icon on the pattern, autonomouslygenerating, with the computing system, music having the setcharacteristics associated with the determined at least one conceptcontained within the communication.

56. The method of paragraph 55, wherein the at least on conceptcorresponds to at least one of an emotion, a state of a person, anaction of a person, an attribute of a physical or virtual environment,or interaction in a physical or virtual environment.

57. The method of paragraph 55, wherein the pattern is at least one of acircular pattern, a triangular patter, a rectangular pattern, apentagonal pattern, a hexagonal pattern, an octagonal pattern, atwo-dimensional grid, or a three-dimensional grid.

In an additional aspect, a method for generating music might becharacterized by the following sample numbered paragraphs:

58. A method, comprising: analyzing, with a computing system, acommunication to determine at least one concept contained within thecommunication; autonomously determining, with the computing system, oneor more first characteristics of a plurality of characteristics of musicassociated with the determined at least one concept contained within thecommunication; and based on the determination of the one or more firstcharacteristics of a plurality of characteristics of music associatedwith the at least one concept contained within the communication,autonomously generating, with the computing system, music having the oneor more first characteristics of the plurality of characteristicsassociated with the at least one determined concept contained within thecommunication.

59. The method of paragraph 58, wherein the at least one conceptcorresponds to at least one of an emotion of a person, a state of aperson, an action of a person, an attribute or interaction in a virtualor physical environment.

60. The method of paragraph 58, wherein the concept corresponds to anemotion of a person or a state of a person, and wherein the one or morefirst characteristics of a plurality of characteristics of musicassociated with the determined at least one concept are designed toguide a user from a negative emotion or negative state to a morepositive emotion or positive state.

61. The method of paragraph 58, wherein the music that is generated maybe used as an assistive aid for musical therapy or assistive technology.

In yet another aspect, a method for generating music might becharacterized by the following sample numbered paragraphs:

62. A method, comprising: receiving, with a computing system, at leastone sensor input associated with a user; analyzing, with the computingsystem, the at least one sensor input to determine at least one firststate of the user; determining, with the computing system, a desiredsecond state of the user; determining, with the computing system,whether the at least one first state of the user matches the desiredsecond state of the user; based on a determination that the at least onefirst state of the user does not match the desired second state of theuser, continuously controlling, with the computing system, thegeneration of music to guide the user to the desired second state basedon the at least one sensor input.

63. The method of paragraph 62, further comprising: based on adetermination that the at least one first state of the user does matchesthe desired second state of the user, continuously controlling, with thecomputing system, the generation of music to have one or morecharacteristics associated with the desired second state.

64. The method of paragraph 62, wherein continuously controlling thegeneration of music further comprises both fixed evolving aspects andvariable changes driven by at least at least one sensor input.

65. The method of paragraph 62, wherein the at least one sensorcomprises at least one of a biometric sensor, an electrode, a GPSsensor, a distance sensor, a motion sensor, a movement sensor, a speedor velocity sensor, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a facial recognitionsensor, or a video or still image.

66. The method of paragraph 62, wherein the desired second state of theuser corresponds to a desired stress level or amount of arousal of theuser, and wherein continuously controlling the generation of the musiccauses the generated music to guide the user from a first stressfulstate to a second more relaxed state based on the at least one sensorinput.

67. The method of paragraph 62, wherein the desired second statecorresponds to state of meditation, and wherein continuously controllingthe generation of the music causes the generated music to guide the userfrom a first non-meditative state to a second meditative state based onthe at least one sensor input.

68. The method of paragraph 62, wherein the desired second statecorresponds to state of focus, and wherein continuously controlling thegeneration of the music causes the generated music to guide the userfrom a first unfocused state to a second focused state based on the atleast one sensor input.

69. The method of paragraph 62, wherein the desired second statecorresponds to an emotion, and wherein continuously controlling thegeneration of the music causes the generated music to guide the userfrom a first negative emotion to a second positive emotion.

70. The method of paragraph 62, wherein the desired second statecorresponds to a desired number of steps to take per minute, and whereincontinuously controlling the generation of the music causes thegenerated music to guide the user to take the desired number of stepsper minute.

71. The method of paragraph 62, wherein continuously controlling thegeneration of the music causes the generated music to sync to at leastone of a running speed of the user, a heartbeat of the user, a breathingpattern of the user, or a brainwave pattern of the user.

72. The method of paragraph 62, wherein the desired second statecorresponds to at least one of a slower breathing pattern, a slowerheartbeat, a faster breathing pattern, or a faster heartrate, andwherein continuously controlling the generation of the music causes thegenerated music to guide the user to at least one of a slower breathingpattern, a slower heartbeat, a faster breathing pattern, or a fasterheartrate.

73. The method of paragraph 62, wherein the desired second statecorresponds to at least one of a decreasing intensity of a workout or anincreasing intensity of a workout, and wherein continuously controllingthe generation of the music causes the generated music to guide the userthrough at least one of the decreasing intensity of a workout or theincreasing intensity of a workout.

74. The method of paragraph 62, wherein the desired second statecorresponds to at least one of a location or a position of the user, andwherein continuously controlling the generation of the music causes thegenerated music to guide the user from a first location to a seconddesired location.

75. The method of paragraph 62, wherein the desired second statecorresponds to at least one goal-oriented state, and whereincontinuously controlled music allows the sound generated to guide theuser to towards the desired goal state.

76. The method of paragraph 75, wherein the desired goal to bemaintained corresponds to at least one of maintaining a heart rate,maintaining a breathing pattern, maintaining a running pace, maintaininga step pace, maintaining a rate of periodic activity, or maintaining avelocity or amount of an activity.

77. The method of paragraph 62, wherein the desired second statecorresponds to at least one of a posture of the user or a body positionof the user, and wherein continuously controlling the generation of themusic causes the generated music to guide the user to at least one of animproved posture or improved body position or improved gesture movement.

78. The method of paragraph 62, wherein the at least one sensor input isat least one biometric input, and wherein the at least one biometricinput is received from at least one of a biometric input readercomprising at least one of a blood pressure monitor, a heart ratemonitor, EKG sensor, PPG sensor, a fitness tracker, CO2 monitor, pulseoximeter, muscle sensor, temperature sensor, respiration sensor, camera,accelerometer, gyroscope or an electroencephalography (“EEG”) device andwherein the computing system determines the at least one state of aperson based on feedback from the at least one of the biometric input.

79. The method of paragraph 62, wherein the one or more characteristicsof music include at least one of a frequency, a note pattern, a noteenvelope, a filter, a harmony, a tone, vocal-like quality, surpriseelement, randomization, consistency, crescendo, decrescendo anorchestration, a speed, a rate, a rhythm, or an amplitude associatedwith the at least first biometric input.

In yet a further aspect, an apparatus for generating music might becharacterized by the following sample numbered paragraphs:

80. An apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and anon-transitory computer readable medium communicatively coupled to theat least one processor, the non-transitory computer readable mediumhaving stored thereon computer software comprising a set of instructionsthat, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the apparatusto: receive at least one sensor input associated with a user; analyzethe at least one sensor input to determine at least one first state ofthe user; determine a desired second state of the user; determinewhether the at least one first state of the user matches the desiredsecond state of the user; based on a determination that the at least onefirst state of the user does not match the desired second state of theuser, continuously control the generation of music to guide the user tothe desired second state based on the at least at least one sensorinput.

In an additional aspect, a system for generating music might becharacterized by the following sample numbered paragraphs:

81. A system, comprising: a computing system, comprising: at least onefirst processor; and a first non-transitory computer readable mediumcommunicatively coupled to the at least one first processor, the firstnon-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon computersoftware comprising a first set of instructions that, when executed bythe at least one first processor causes the computing system to: receiveat least one sensor input associated with a user; analyze the at leastone sensor input to determine at least one first state of the user;determine a desired second state of the user; determine whether the atleast one first state of the user matches the desired second state ofthe user; based on a determination that the at least one first state ofthe user does not match the desired second state of the user,continuously control the generation of music to guide the user to thedesired second state based on the at least at least one sensor input.

In another aspect, a method for generating music might be characterizedby the following sample numbered paragraphs:

82. A method, comprising: receiving, with a computing system, a firstbiometric input associated with a user; analyzing, with the computingsystem, the first biometric input to determine a first state of theuser; autonomously determining, with the computing system, one or morefirst characteristics of music associated with the determined firststate of the user; based on the determination of the one or more firstcharacteristics of music associated with the determined first state ofthe user, autonomously generating, with the computing system, musichaving the one or more first characteristics associated with the firststate of the user; receiving, with the computing system, at least onesecond biometric input associated with the user; analyzing, with thecomputing system, the at least one second biometric input to determineat least one second state of the user; determining, with the computingsystem, whether the second state of the user is different from the firststate of the user; based on a determination that the second state of theuser is different from the first state of the user, autonomouslydetermining, with the computing system, one or more secondcharacteristics of music associated with the determined at least onesecond state of the user; based on a determination of the one or moresecond characteristics of music associated with the second state of theuser, autonomously transitioning between generating music having the oneor more first characteristics of music associated with the first stateof the user to generating music having the one or more secondcharacteristics of the plurality of characteristics associated with thesecond state of the user.

In an additional aspect, a method for generating music might becharacterized by the following sample numbered paragraphs:

83. A method, comprising: continuously receiving, with a computingsystem, one or more biometric inputs associated with a user; analyzing,with the computing system, the one or more biometric inputs to determineat least one first state of the user; determining, with the computingsystem, a desired second state of the user; determining, with thecomputing system, whether the at least one first state of the usermatches the desired second state of the user; based on a determinationthat the at least one first state of the user does not match the desiredsecond state of the user, continuously generating music having one ormore evolving characteristics of music associated with the at least onebiometric input, wherein the one or more evolving characteristics ofmusic guide the user to the desired second state based on the at leastat least one biometric input.

In an aspect, a method for generating music might be characterized bythe following sample numbered paragraphs:

84. A method, comprising: analyzing, with a computing system, a sensorinput or a communication to determine at least one state; autonomouslydetermining, with the computing system, one or more firstcharacteristics of a plurality of characteristics of music associatedwith the determined at least one state; and based on the determinationof the one or more first characteristics of a plurality ofcharacteristics of music associated with the at least one state,autonomously generating, with the computing system, music having the oneor more first characteristics of the plurality of characteristicsassociated with the at least one determined state.

85. The method of paragraph 84, wherein the music that is generated isgenerated in real-time based on feedback from the sensor input or thecommunication.

86. The method of paragraph 84, wherein the one or more firstcharacteristics of the plurality of characteristics of music reflect anintensity of the determined at least one state.

87. The method of paragraph 84, wherein the one or more firstcharacteristics of the plurality of characteristics of music reflect avalence of the determined at least one state.

While certain features and aspects have been described with respect toexemplary embodiments, one skilled in the art will recognize thatnumerous modifications are possible. For example, the methods andprocesses described herein may be implemented using hardware components,software components, and/or any combination thereof. Further, whilevarious methods and processes described herein may be described withrespect to particular structural and/or functional components for easeof description, methods provided by various embodiments are not limitedto any particular structural and/or functional architecture but insteadcan be implemented on any suitable hardware, firmware and/or softwareconfiguration. Similarly, while certain functionality is ascribed tocertain system components, unless the context dictates otherwise, thisfunctionality can be distributed among various other system componentsin accordance with the several embodiments.

Moreover, while the procedures of the methods and processes describedherein are described in a particular order for ease of description,unless the context dictates otherwise, various procedures may bereordered, added, and/or omitted in accordance with various embodiments.Moreover, the procedures described with respect to one method or processmay be incorporated within other described methods or processes;likewise, system components described according to a particularstructural architecture and/or with respect to one system may beorganized in alternative structural architectures and/or incorporatedwithin other described systems. Hence, while various embodiments aredescribed with—or without—certain features for ease of description andto illustrate exemplary aspects of those embodiments, the variouscomponents and/or features described herein with respect to a particularembodiment can be substituted, added and/or subtracted from among otherdescribed embodiments, unless the context dictates otherwise.Consequently, although several exemplary embodiments are describedabove, it will be appreciated that the invention is intended to coverall modifications and equivalents within the scope of the followingclaims.

1-85. (canceled)
 86. A method, comprising: analyzing, with a computingsystem, a sensor input or a communication to determine at least onestate contained within the sensor input or the communication; based on adetermined at least one state, autonomously determining, with thecomputing system, one or more first characteristics of a plurality ofcharacteristics of sound associated with the determined at least onestate; and based on the determination of the one or more firstcharacteristics of the plurality of characteristics of sound associatedwith the determined at least one state, autonomously generating, withthe computing system, first music having the one or more firstcharacteristics of the plurality of characteristics of sound associatedwith the at least one determined state.
 87. The method of claim 86,wherein the computing system comprises at least one of a desktopcomputer, a laptop computer, a tablet, an embedded processing unit, or acellular phone.
 88. The method of claim 86, wherein the communicationcomprises at least one of an Internet of Things (“IoT”) communication, abiometric communication, a voice communication, a textual communication,a photographic communication, or a video communication.
 89. The methodof claim 86, wherein the sensor input is received from one or moresensors, wherein the one or more sensors comprise one or more GPSsensors, one or more distance sensors, one or more motion sensors, oneor more movement sensors, one or more speed sensors, one or morevelocity sensors, one or more accelerometer sensors, one or moregyroscope sensors, one or more biometric sensors, one or more healthsensors, one or more facial recognition sensors, one or more cameras,one or more weather sensors, one or more temperature sensors, one ormore ambient light sensors, one or more humidity sensors, one or moretouch sensors, one or more movement sensors, one or more rotationsensors, one or more microphones, or one or more audio sensors.
 90. Themethod of claim 86, wherein the first music that is generated compriseshuman-like embellishments, and wherein the human-like embellishments arecreated from at least one of timing jitter, frequency jitter, or timbrejitter.
 91. The method of claim 86, wherein the sensor input or thecommunication is further indicative of at least one of an age of a user,a sex of the user, or a location of the user, wherein the one or morefirst characteristics of the plurality of characteristics of sound arefurther associated with at least one of the age of the user, the sex ofthe user, or the location of the user, and wherein the first music thatis generated has the one or more first characteristics of the pluralityof characteristics of sound associated with the at least one of the ageof the user, the sex of the user, or the location of the user.
 92. Themethod of claim 86, further comprising: receiving, with the computingsystem, a user selection of at least one of one or more desired states,one or more genres of music, or one or more musical instruments;determining one or more second characteristics of the plurality ofcharacteristics of sound based on the user selection of at least one ofthe one or more desired states, the one or more genres of music, or theone or more musical instruments; and generating, with the computingsystem, the first music having the one or more first characteristics ofthe plurality of characteristics of sound associated with the at leastone determined state and having the one or more second characteristicsof the plurality of characteristics of sound associated with the userselection of at least one of the one or more desired states, the one ormore genres of music, or the one or more musical instruments.
 93. Themethod of claim 86, wherein the determined at least one state is acurrent state, and wherein the method comprises: determining, with thecomputing system, a desired state; autonomously determining, with thecomputing system, one or more second characteristics of the plurality ofcharacteristics of sound associated with the desired state; and based onthe determination of the one or more second characteristics of theplurality of characteristics of sound associated with the desired state,autonomously generating, with the computing system, second music havingthe one or more second characteristics of the plurality ofcharacteristics of sound associated with the desired state.
 94. Themethod of claim 93, further comprising: simultaneously playing, with thecomputing system, the first music having the one or more firstcharacteristics of the plurality of characteristics of sound associatedwith the at least one determined state and the second music having theone or more second characteristics of the plurality of characteristicsof sound associated with the desired state.
 95. The method of claim 86,wherein the determined at least one state is a current state, andwherein the method comprises: determining, with the computing system, adesired state; determining, with the computing system, whether thecurrent state matches the desired state; based on a determination thatthe current state does not match the desired state, continuouslycontrolling, with the computing system, the generation of the firstmusic to guide a user from the current state to the desired state. 96.The method of claim 95, wherein the desired state is at least one of aslower breathing pattern, a slower heartbeat, a faster breathingpattern, or a faster heartrate, and wherein continuously controlling thegeneration of the first music causes the first music to guide the userto at least one of the slower breathing pattern, the slower heartbeat,the faster breathing pattern, or the faster heartrate.
 97. The method ofclaim 95, wherein the desired state is at least one goal-oriented state,and wherein continuously controlling the generation of the first musiccauses the first music to guide the user towards the goal-orientedstate.
 98. The method of claim 97, wherein the goal-oriented state is atleast one of maintaining a heart rate, maintaining a breathing pattern,maintaining a running pace, maintaining a step pace, maintaining a rateof periodic activity, maintaining a velocity of activity, or maintainingan amount of activity, and wherein continuously controlling thegeneration of the first music causes the first music to guide the userto maintain the heart rate, maintain the breathing pattern, maintain therunning pace, maintain the step pace, maintain the rate of periodicactivity, maintain the velocity of activity, or maintain the amount ofactivity.
 99. The method of claim 95, wherein continuously controllingthe generation of the music causes the first music to sync to at leastone of a running speed of the user, a heartbeat of the user, a breathingpattern of the user, or a brainwave pattern of the user.
 100. The methodof claim 95, wherein the desired state is a meditative state, andwherein continuously controlling the generation of the first musiccauses the first music to guide the user from a non-meditative state tothe meditative state.
 101. The method of claim 95, wherein the desiredsecond state is at least one of a decreasing intensity of a workout oran increasing intensity of a workout, and wherein continuouslycontrolling the generation of the first music causes the first music toguide the user through at least one of the decreasing intensity of theworkout or the increasing intensity of the workout.
 102. The method ofclaim 86, further comprising: mapping, with the computing system, aplurality of states to a plurality of positions on a graph, wherein afirst subset of characteristics of sound of the plurality ofcharacteristics of sound varies based on a particular position of aparticular state of the plurality of states relative to the first axisof the graph, and wherein a second subset of characteristics of sound ofthe plurality of characteristics of sound varies based on the particularposition of the particular state of the plurality of states relative toa second axis of the graph; determining, with the computing system, afirst position of the determined at least one state relative to thefirst axis and the second axis; based on a determination of the firstposition of the determined at least one state relative to the first axisand relative to the second axis, autonomously generating, with thecomputing system, the first music having the first subset ofcharacteristics and the second subset of characteristics associated withthe first position of the determined at least one state.
 103. The methodof claim 102, wherein the first subset of characteristics of soundcorrespond to a valence of sound, wherein the valence of sound comprisesat least one of timbre of notes, minor notes, randomness of notes, orsynchronicity of notes, wherein the second subset of characteristics ofsound correspond to an intensity of sound, wherein the intensity ofsound comprise loudness of sound or number of beats per minute.
 104. Anapparatus, comprising: at least one processor; and a non-transitorycomputer readable medium communicatively coupled to the at least oneprocessor, the non-transitory computer readable medium having storedthereon computer software comprising a set of instructions that, whenexecuted by the at least one processor, causes the apparatus to: analyzea sensor input or a communication to determine at least one statecontained within the sensor input or the communication; based on adetermined at least one state, autonomously determine one or more firstcharacteristics of a plurality of characteristics of sound associatedwith the determined at least one state; and based on the determinationof the one or more first characteristics of the plurality ofcharacteristics of sound associated with the determined at least onestate, autonomously generate first music having the one or more firstcharacteristics of the plurality of characteristics of sound associatedwith the at least one determined state.
 105. A system, comprising: atleast one of a sensor or a user device, at least of the sensor or theuser device, comprising: at least one first processor; and a firstnon-transitory computer readable medium communicatively coupled to theat least one first processor, the first non-transitory computer readablemedium having stored thereon computer software comprising a first set ofinstructions that, when executed by the at least one first processorcauses at least of the sensor or the user device to: send a sensor inputor a communication to a computing system; the computing system,comprising: at least one second processor; and a second non-transitorycomputer readable medium communicatively coupled to the at least onesecond processor, the second non-transitory computer readable mediumhaving stored thereon computer software comprising a second set ofinstructions that, when executed by the at least one second processorcauses the computing system to: receive the sensor input or thecommunication from at least of the sensor or the user device; analyzethe sensor input or the communication to determine at least one statecontained within the sensor input or the communication; based on adetermined at least one state, autonomously determine one or more firstcharacteristics of a plurality of characteristics of sound associatedwith the determined at least one state; and based on the determinationof the one or more first characteristics of the plurality ofcharacteristics of sound associated with the determined at least onestate, autonomously generate first music having the one or more firstcharacteristics of the plurality of characteristics of sound associatedwith the at least one determined state.